Honor
by YarningChick
Summary: A rose by any other name... wouldn't sound as cool. Even if the flower happened to be enchantingly blue.
1. The Enchantment

Okay, here's the people that guessed this story's inspiration; Rini's Ghost, Savannah Cullen, tashie1010, slavetothekeyboard, 13IsTaLkThEaKaTsUkI13, and Revy22. Good job!

To those who were hoping for Romeo and Juliet, I'm sorry for misleading you; I thought the summary sounded cooler than the first one I wrote. If it helps at all, I'm considering doing a (clean) CR take on it. I guess we'll see where my muse leads me.

**Chapter One: The Enchantment**

The stone floor was cold.

That shouldn't have been a revelation to anyone, but the fact usually matters more to someone who finds himself waking up on one instead of a proper bed.

And that is precisely where the Baron Humbert von Gikkingen found himself.

A groan escaped his throat as he reluctantly opened his green eyes to the darkness, and pressed one hand to his forehead in a vain attempt to counter the monumental headache that pounded against his skull.

"Oh good. You're awake," a familiar voice said in a relieved manner from high above the young lord.

"Toto?" Baron asked, rising to a seating position before rolling to his feet. "Where are you? Why hasn't someone lit the fires?"

A terrible silence greeted his words.

"Someone please light the fire," Toto said formally. In response to his words, another familiar voice began to swear a bit as he fumbled with the flint and steel. In time, a fire began to glow from the hearth.

With the room bathed in light, the tawny young man could see that he was in his bedroom, but it was deserted, save for him. Oh, and the unfamiliar cat right next to the fire. Where was the servant that had lit it?

"Toto?" Baron called out again, wondering if he had only imagined hearing his dear friend.

"I'm up here," the familiar voice said miserably from over the canopied bed. More than a little confused, Baron stood up and walked a few steps before looking up.

He gasped.

There was only a crow up there, clutching one of the polished banisters, but the gaze of that dark bird matched that of the young lord's friend precisely.

"Toto?" Baron whispered, one hand still pressed to the side of his head.

Yes. He was beginning to remember now. That strange peddler had paid an unexpected call on him with a bushel of wares. But, after the peddler made the declaration of loyalty to the traitorous King Julian, the Baron's mind had gone blank. The king in question was one that the young nobleman had publicly denounced as a rogue and traitor to a centuries-old continental alliance.

That in itself might have been bearable, but proving beyond a doubt that King Julian had tried to abduct a princess against her will and start a war over her was obviously not acceptable to the crazy monarch. Especially since the Princess Louise was only three years old, and a complete innocent of any political move.

The servant of King Julian had done something, but for the life of him, Baron couldn't remember just what it was.

"I'm not the only one who's changed," Toto said miserably, pointing with one wing towards the mirror Baron kept in the corner of his room for shaving purposes. With a feeling of apprehension, the young lord hesitantly walked over to the small mirror… and screamed with horror.

And he hadn't screamed since his childhood.

His gloved hands flew over his face, examining the muzzle and whiskers that were now firmly attached to his head, his large pointed ears twitching this way and that with his frantic mood. He tore of his gloves to discover that his hands were padded, and properly flexing his fingers could produce a rather intimidating set of sharp white claws. He looked back at the small mirror, wishing to wake up from the terrible nightmare.

He was a cat.

Well, half-cat would be more accurate, since he was still as tall as a man, and had fingers and toes instead of paws. But the rest of him…

With a heart full of sorrow, Baron took a shaky hand to the mirror, and lifted it off the hook so that he could lay it face down on the nearby desk, to spare himself the agony of looking at his unfamiliar reflection.

"How long have I been out?" he whispered, almost inaudibly.

Toto sighed from his perch. "A couple of hours is all. So, what do we do, now that everyone in the castle is either a cat or bird?"

Baron groaned, fighting back the urge to collapse onto the ground in frustration. "I don't know, Toto. I just don't know anymore."

With that, he slowly made his way to the large cream-colored bed, and laid himself down onto the neatly folded sheets.

He didn't even think to take off his top hat first.

ooOoo

There he lay, although he had no clue as to how long, nor did he truly care. His mind seemed to be as blank as the soft canopy stretched over his head, and his senses just as dull.

Sometimes, he heard voices, and sometimes he didn't. Baron couldn't really see how it could matter anymore. Thanks to his new appearance, there was no possible way that he could return to court, or even step outside of his lands without encountering hostile mobs. He was well acquainted with the world. He knew that if hunchbacks and lepers were treated as subhumans, there was a good chance that he would be branded as a demon or worse.

And to break the curse? He must have been insane, to have softened the curse like that, before he had succumbed to the darkness that the servant of King Julian had sent him to. Even if it was the only way he could think of to ensure that he could someday regain his true form, there was no way that he could ever bring himself to ask that of any mai-

Without warning, something sharp clawed deep into his ankle. Baron couldn't suppress a yowl of displeasure as he neatly jumped off the bed, and landed on the cold stone floor with his hands. His feet were still on the bed as he looked at them to see who was responsible for the blood running down his ankle.

An abnormally fat white cat was hopping off of the bed, his grin darkly smug.

"Did you hear me that time?" the huge feline demanded in a tone that indicated he had asked the question before. Baron glared darkly at him, since he had recognized the voice.

"Was that necessary, Muta?" the orange and cream feline hissed, carefully bringing his feet to the ground so that he could take a slightly wrinkled handkerchief to the cuts.

"Maybe if you had used your head, I wouldn't have needed to do it. Snap out of it, Baron! I thought you were the type to act, not be acted on!"

"I am," the taller feline objected, still wiping at his bleeding ankle.

"Then act like it!" Muta snapped at his friend. "You're not the only one that's been hurt by this, Baron. Everyone that lives within ten miles of this place has been changed into a fur ball or a bird brain. King Edward's been sending messenger after messenger, trying to contact you, and we can't hold them off much longer. Like it or not, you have some decisions to make."

Baron stared at one of his oldest friends, one hand still frozen to his ankle which had almost stopped bleeding.

Of course. Cursed or not, he still had duties. He sighed, and got to his feet.

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right!" Muta said indignantly, putting his front paws to his sides and making his huge belly stick out further. "If you'd just listen to me more, you wouldn't get into so much trouble!"

Baron couldn't help but smile at that as he reached behind him, and grabbed the top hat that had been lying on his pillow.

Just before putting it on, the feline lord looked at the silken hat for a second. His father had worn one much like it.

What kind of legacy would he leave his family name, by trying to give up this easily?

Smiling grimly, Baron placed the hat between his velvety ears with a style of finality.

"Where is the rose?" he asked his white companion, who snorted like a pig.

"In the garden, where else?"

Baron nodded once at his friend, and left the bedroom.

Despite the drastic change made in the inhabitants of the von Gikkingen manor, the manor itself remained unchanged. Baron was of two minds about that, as he passed a larger mirror in a corridor that led to a door just outside the gardens. He winced painfully at his reflection.

"Please remove all the mirrors in the manor," he asked a group of cats that had started following him like a litter of kittens. "I don't care where you put them, as long as they're out of sight."

"At once, my lord," Nicholas said numbly, immediately turning around and barking orders to the other servants like he usually did.

"Please do the same to the family portraits," Baron sighed, opening the door and closing it behind him. It would hurt too much to look at who he used to be, and he wanted to be alone for his first seeing of the rose that would lead to his redemption.

He looked first at the rose hedges that covered the entrance to his gardens, but they were sadly bare of the particular bloom he was looking for. He then conducted his search in a long sweep, circling each and every bush. Woefully, he concluded that perhaps combining the flowers instead of separating the varieties might not have been such a good idea after all. But the resulting arrangement was so beautiful, that he had no choice but to forgive himself for having to go the extra mile.

And when he finally found the right blossom, he almost walked by it in his haste. The orange and cream feline stopped dead in his tracks, and slowly turned back into the little nook that lay in the middle of his breathtaking garden, almost framing his pride and joy.

He nearly laughed at himself, stepping close to his mother's prized rosebush, a favorite reminder of the elegant lady that had shaped his very life into a masterpiece. He should have known from the start that this would be the place to look.

He kneeled down on one knee, and gently took the rosebud he had attached the spell-breaking magic into with one hand.

The bud in question was very small, and if he hadn't known beforehand that there wasn't a flower at this particular spot on the bush, he wouldn't have bothered taking a second glance. But now that he was this close to it, he could feel strong waves of magic emanating from the tiny rosebud.

All the roses on this bush were of the purest white, save for this blossom, which had the faintest beginnings of a delicate shade of blue on the very edges. It was premature.

"Just who are you destined for?" Baron softly asked the humble bud between his fingertips. "Whose ribbon will match your petals?"

It didn't answer, but then again, he wasn't really expecting it to.


	2. The Strangers

**Chapter Two: The Strangers**

The following years began to drag by at a snail's pace. The twin spells of forgetfulness and concealment kept the inhabitants of the von Gikkingen manor safe, though not always content. It was indeed hard to have to let go of family and friends that lived outside of the von Gikkingen personal lands, possibly for good, but what choice did any of them have?

If it weren't for the fact that he had been changed into a half-feline, Baron would have been content in this new life. Always before, his king would call him for help, even if he didn't really need it, so Baron hadn't really spent more than a month inside his home at any given time since he had taken over his esteemed father's title and duties.

Now he had all this time to himself. What could he do but take full advantage of it? He read every book in his library, repeatedly, if it wasn't enough of a feat by just doing it once. He took long walks, covering every inch of his reduced lands until he knew them like the back of his paw-like hand.

But his main concern always remained the pale little rosebud that carried his future within its periwinkle petals. His careful attention to the modest blossom ensured that he could watch the slow transformation of the tiny bud turning into an unfolding glory.

When half of the petals had unfolded from the bud, it suddenly occurred to him that a good amount of years had passed by, but the rose seemed to be almost the same as it had always been.

"How long would you say it's been, Jeremy?" Baron asked the dove that was dozing on his mother's bush as he carefully trimmed the excess leaves one bright summer day.

The snowy-white bird suddenly snapped to attention, and started preening one of his wings. "One hundred and thirty years, at last count. Toto would know for sure."

Baron sighed, running a gloved hand over his face again. It felt the same as always. Wondering something, he rubbed his forehead a little harder, and then looked at his paw-like hand.

Thin strands of orange hair clung to the sturdy cotton fabric of his glove, not showing the slightest trace of old age. He sighed, glad that he had _that _much to be grateful for, at least. Being a cat was bad enough.

But how long would he be stuck in this never-changing limbo?

He sighed, and placed his planting shears aside so that he could head back into his manor house. Perhaps another cat nap would help him.

Meanwhile, the years continued their snail-like march.

ooOoo

Baron narrowed his glowing green eyes, and his fingers began to weave a design that solidified into a sieve-like umbrella as a flow of intangible words flowed from his furry mouth. The umbrella was difficult to see, but that wasn't a problem. Its job didn't require to be seen.

At the feline lord's urging, the umbrella began to grow, and keep right on growing until it neatly covered all of the Baron's gardens. Smiling slightly, the orange and cream cat lowered his hands slowly, so that the sides of the strange shield could lower and meet with the ground.

Baron slapped his hands together to dust them off as he surveyed his handiwork, one eye on the dark clouds that were speedily approaching from the east. He had seen a number of storms like that before, and knew that the winds that would soon come might very well rip his precious flowers' heads off, but thanks to the shield, only a reasonable amount of water would come through to nourish his plants. The worst of the storm would be swept away from his gardens long before any damage could be done.

Satisfied that his flower and food gardens would be safe, Baron smiled again and stepped into his home as the first raindrops began to fall.

Even as the feline lord walked to the stairs leading up to his room, the gentle rain turned into a violent downpour, and the curtains billowed and danced as feline servants closed the bigger windows so that the hallways wouldn't become as slick as a riverbed as the remaining feathered servants scrambled to get inside and away from the terrifying wind and deafening thunder.

Baron finally arrived at his personal chambers, but the storm outside seemed to have a hypnotic effect on the half-cat. Instead of trying to sleep like he should have, he became entranced by the glittering rain drops as they fell at a maddening pace, and the wind howled angrily.

Sighing, the orange and cream feline finally sat up from his bed, and walked over so that he could close the glass window.

His hands rested on the counterpane for a moment, as he surveyed the view from there, but then closed the window. He latched the windows securely, and turned away to return to his attempted slumber.

But, just as he turned away, a far-off shadow caught his eye. He froze for a second, but then quickly turned back to the window, pressing himself against it so that he could see just what had caught his eye. His breath fogged up the glass, making him mutter under his breath and open the window again.

His front almost immediately became soaked by the pounding rain, but Baron paid no heed. Instead, he leaned as far out the window as he could, straining his feline eyes against the darkness.

There! Someone was inside his woods. A _human_.

Curious, Baron ran to a cabinet on the opposite wall to retrieve his spyglass, and returned to the window with it so he could get a closer look without endangering himself.

It was a man on horseback, his dark cloak huddled tight around his body. The dark horse he was riding was stumbling a bit on the slick grass and mud, and the man's shoulders were fallen, like he was close to collapsing himself.

"That's not going to work," Baron muttered to himself, running out of the room as he cast a spell towards his throat.

"Attention, everyone," the feline lord said as clearly as he could, his voice ringing throughout the manor. "There's a weary traveler out in that storm, and I'm going to invite him here for the night. I'm casting a spell of invisibility over everyone that lives here so that he won't find out about us. Be prepared to welcome him." He removed his finger from his throat, and began the invisibility spell that would keep his friends and himself safe, as he kept running to the front gate, holding an invisible umbrella over himself.

Satisfied that the invisibility spell was in place, he relaxed the one that hid his home from intruders.

"Come," Baron whispered, already seeing the lone rider come down the forgotten road. "Come, and find refuge from thy sorrows."

The orange and cream feline knew that the human wouldn't be able to hear him, but perhaps he would be able to **feel** it somehow.

The man looked up from underneath his large riding hat, and suppressed a somewhat tired gasp.

"Where did _that _come from?" he asked out loud, the wind almost making his voice indecipherable, but didn't hesitate to urge his tired mount past the large iron gate, not noticing the tall feline that had granted him aid.

Smiling in satisfaction, Baron closed the gate with a wave of his hand, reasserting the spell that would make the manor and closing gateway un-seeable.

"Perhaps you would care to quarter your horse in the stables?" the tawny feline asked, waving a hand so that the stable door could fly open almost like the wind had done it.

The man sighed with relief, sliding off of the dark gray horse with one hand to the front of his cloak, which had a noticeable bulge, and the other gripping the reins firmly so that the horse could be led into the warm and dry quarters. Baron followed the human, more than a little curious as to what the bulge could be. Something told him that it wasn't the man's belly.

The feline lord slipped through the door before the human could turn and shut it, panting slightly as he latched the door closed.

"I can't believe it," the man said wearily, taking off the huge unfashionable hat to hang it on a hook. "We'd have been in real trouble if I had ridden past this place."

Without the large hat to hide the man's face, Baron could see that he was middle-aged, still fairly young and reasonably good-looking. His dark hair lay flat over his head from the hat and the rain, but there was a possibility that his hair was that flat when he was dry. His eyes, although tired in more ways than one, were warm and steady. The peculiar angling of his eyes and jaw line confirmed the man to be of Jilash descent like Muta had been before the curse. The feline lord watched silently as the man turned to his mount, who was munching hungrily on the oats that a servant had slipped in while the man's back was turned.

"No, Haku-" the man tried to say, but then stopped himself, sighing sadly. He felt the small purse hanging from his belt, and Baron could tell from a couple feet away that the man had severely limited funds.

"I hope I have enough to pay for that grain," the man fretted, collapsing next to his horse. Baron bit back a soft chuckle.

"Don't worry, good sir. I would have refused payment anyway." But how much good would one night's lodging do the man? Perhaps there was something more that the feline lord could do for this stranger. Where was he going, and why?

From the bulge in the human's cloak, a tired sigh echoed throughout the stables.

"Are we there yet, Papa?" a soft voice asked, making the man chuckle a little tiredly, and unwrap his cloak from the bundle in his arm.

"Not quite yet, Sweetheart," the man said apologetically as a little girl emerged from the dark cloak, wrapped in a slightly wet cloak of her own. The hood was still over her head when she stood up from her father's embrace, and stretched her arms upward. Suppressing another yawn, the tiny girl looked around the stable curiously as Baron got down on one knee, in order to see the girl's face.

She was adorable, with huge brown eyes that seemed to take in everything around her, and dark feathery hair that was much like her father's, although hers was swept away from her face to hide deep within the folds of her hood. Baron judged her to be around the age of six.

"Where is this place?" the little girl asked her father, who laughed good-naturedly.

"Your guess is as good as mine, honey. I think it might be a good place to wait out the storm."

At the last remark, the tiny female excitedly ran to the sturdy door, and tried to open it as lightning lit up the sky.

"Haru, no!" the man yelled fearfully, jumping to his feet in order to stride over and sweep his daughter off her feet. "It's a nightmare out there. We're safer in here, Sweetheart."

"But I wanna see!" the girl protested as her father carried her back to the horse, who had finished eating and had gone to sleep.

The man sighed tiredly as his dark daughter continued to struggle. "Why don't we go to sleep, hmm? Not even storms can wake _you_ up."

"But I was just asleep!" the girl declared as her father hung his dripping cloak next to the hat, and then lay down in the soft clean hay.

"Then it should be a little easier for you. Come on, have a bit of bread, and go to sleep." The man fished around the bag on his horse until he came up with a small portion of food that looked a little dry and hard.

But the girl shook her head angrily. "No, Papa. I ate the last one, remember? And the one before that. It's your turn."

"I'm not hungry," the man lied, but then his stomach gave such a loud roar, that it made the horse nicker fearfully in his sleep.

The tiny girl's eyes narrowed angrily in a way they shouldn't have, for one so young. She crossed her arms stubbornly, and glared at her father. "You eat it," the girl said in a low dangerous tone, like _she _was the parent, and her father the child. "What will _I_ do, if you collapse from hunger on the road tomorrow? I'm not strong enough to keep you on the horse, and I don't even know where our new home is."

Baron stared at the tiny child incredulously as the father stiffened guiltily, and began eating the stale bit of bread.

The small brunette smiled grimly, and cuddled back onto her father's lap while patting one of his cheeks lovingly. "I love you, Papa. Now eat up and go to sleep," the girl commanded in a tone that perfectly echoed her father's.

The man laughed, but the chuckles quickly turned into sobs as he choked down that small piece of bread, and squeezed that tiny child close to him as his tears ran over her dark hood like raindrops. "What would I do without you, Haru?" the man sobbed, cradling her close as Baron, still hiding in the corner, was moved to tears as well.

"What a strong little girl," the tawny cat whispered reverently as the child sang a soft lullaby made of nonsense words until the man's sobs subsided, and he was sound asleep.

The little girl smiled with satisfaction, and rested her head on her father's moist chest.

'_I think I'll transport them to more comfortable rooms, after she falls asleep as well,' _Baron thought to himself, strangely unable to keep his eyes off of the small girl-child as she rubbed her cheek against her father's slightly rough homespun shirt.

There was _definitely _more he could do for the two than a night's lodging. As honorable as the tiny female was, going without supper was a choice no child should have to make.

The girl, Haru, tossed and turned for a while in her father's arms. There was no telling how long she had been asleep before the storm, so slumber appeared to be a distant shore.

Frowning in frustration, the tiny brunette reached up with one hand to pull off the hood that had shielded her hair from the father's tears.

Baron gasped as the girl used the hood as a makeshift pillow for her shoulder, and tried to go to sleep again.

Her hairstyle was one that he had never seen before, at least in that fashion. He himself had sometimes worn a ponytail as a human before deciding that his hair was more manageable when short, but Haru was wearing her ponytail higher on her head, a little higher than eye level.

But it wasn't her hairstyle that had caught his undivided attention.

It was the light, almost faded blue ribbon that held her hair in place.


	3. The Girl

**Chapter Three: The Girl**

Baron stared at the child, his mouth shamelessly agape as the tiny girl slowly but surely fell back asleep.

_This _was the one who would break the spell on him?!

Softly, he stormed over to the father and kneeled by his side to get a closer look at the ribbon in the daughter's hair.

No, there was no escaping it. He had spent over two centuries studying that particular shade of blue. She was the one, all right.

"A _child_?" the tawny feline whispered to himself in horror as a familiar crow flew through a small window in the loft, and circled the room once before landing on one of the wooden stalls.

"What's taking so long, Baron? The others are starting… to … worry…" Toto trailed off, staring at the simple ribbon in the child's hair. His dark beady eyes widened in shock. "Baron! You did _not_ just put that ribbon in the girl's hair, did you?!"

"Of course not!" the tall feline snapped, standing up straight so that he could start pacing the rarely used stalls. "Why would I do that to a child?!"

Toto started some breathing exercises as the half-cat continued his fast-paced march. "Okay, the main thing right now is not to panic."

"How can I _not _panic, Toto?" Baron demanded, pointing at the comatose female. "_Look _at her! I doubt she's even lost all of her baby teeth yet!"

"Just calm down, Baron!" the dark crow insisted. "Maybe there's a reason that she came here as a child!"

"Like what?!" the feline lord demanded.

The bird had to think for a second. "Well, maybe she's not going to come back when she gets older, and this is the only chance you're going to get to maneuver the girl close to the rose."

Baron stopped in mid-step. "I didn't think of that," he admitted, stealing another look at the girl that would become his future. "But, I can't possibly take her away from her father, Toto. Not when she's this young, and he _needs_ her." The tearful scene he had witnessed had assured him of that little fact.

"So get her to promise to come back when she's older," Toto countered, preening the feathers in one of his wings. "If this girl is _really _the one we've been waiting for, then her word will be her bond, no matter how terrified she is to keep that promise."

Baron looked at the child again as she slept. She seemed so content, and trusting.

But, what would it do to her, to see him in this monstrous state when she was still so young? Would she be scarred for life?

The tawny feline sighed tiredly. He wasn't very happy about Toto's plan, but seeing as he couldn't think of a better one, he didn't have much of a choice.

"All right, Toto. I'll do it." Softly, Baron muttered a few choice incantations under his breath, and pointed at the humans in front of him.

They dissolved into nothing, only to reappear in separate rooms of his enormous manor. As an afterthought, he placed them in different wings of his estate.

If there was going to be any chance that he could maneuver Miss Haru close to his precious rose, the father would have to be temporarily out of the picture.

A wave of guilt hit him square in the chest as he slowly walked back into his ancestral home.

'_I can't believe I'm about to do this to a little girl.'_

ooOoo

By the time the sun rose the next morning, the storm had finished its course, and all the servants had been advised of the special girl's appearance.

It was a good thing that the child couldn't see any of the cats, for if she _had _been able to, she surely would have been frightened by the mob of felines (female, for the sake of propriety) decorating the floor around her bed when she awoke in the late morning, watching her every move.

Haru stretched happily but then looked around the lovely room in confusion.

"Where am I?" she asked in wonder, looking right past the cats that had surrounded her.

"You're in the von Gikkingen estate, dear," one chambermaid told her gently, only to get slapped playfully by the feline next to her.

"It's not like she can hear you," the chastising companion said as the girl pulled back the thick comforter that had been covering her slender form.

"_Here's _how to get the girl's attention," another servant told her friend teasingly, ringing a tiny silver bell from her place on the small table in the corner. Haru looked over at it, and immediately started walking towards the table, her brown eyes large with admiration.

On the table was a breakfast of pancakes drenched in blackberry syrup with hot chocolate and toast, which the girl immediately started eating after murmuring a quick but completely sincere prayer of thanks. The cats continued to watch the girl in fascination, as she hungrily ate the somewhat humble breakfast. Her table manners weren't quite that of a polished young lady, but they were a great deal neater than what the cats had been expecting of this poorly dressed little girl.

After the last pancake had been nibbled away, Haru sat back in her little chair with a happy sigh.

"I haven't been this full since we left home," she said dreamily. She almost drifted off again, but then jumped out of the chair in a panic. "Oh no! Papa!" The small brunette ran for the door.

"Oh no you don't," another servant said sternly, ringing a bell close to a bathtub, filled with warm water and fragrant bubbles in a closed off part of the room.

The curious little girl just _had _to go take a look, since the servant kept ringing the bell until the tiny brunette looked into the tub.

Haru looked first at the door, and then at the bathtub again, clearly caught between two strong desires. She bit her lip nervously, but then started pulling off her dirty little beige dress and light blue hair ribbon, since her little shoes were still next to the bed she had woken up in.

"Papa will probably forgive me for doing this first," the tiny brunette said nervously, stepping onto the little stairs leading to the top of the tub before climbing in.

"Should we help her?" a creamy cat asked as the tiny human pinched her nose and took a deep breath before sinking her entire body underneath the frothy white bubbles.

"Let's see how far she can go without help," a red feline advised, watching the water's surface intently. "She might panic if unseen hands try to help. Quick, grab that dress before she comes up again."

As it turned out, the tiny girl managed the bath just fine on her own, clearly enjoying what had to be a rare luxury for her, if her giggles of delight were of any indication.

In any case, she was clean when she reluctantly climbed out of the tub, and dried herself off with a big fluffy towel. Suddenly, she looked at where she had left her wrinkled little dress, and gasped.

"Hey!" she protested, looking around the bathtub for the missing item. "Where'd it go?"

"The other dress didn't really suit you, dear," the cream cat said gently, ringing a bell from her place on the bed. The little girl looked over, and bit back another gasp.

The new dress lying on the bed looked like it would fit her, but it was of a somewhat finer weave than the homespun she had been wearing earlier. It was also the same color as her slightly worn out hair ribbon, which was folded neatly right next to the dress.

The human girl approached it slowly, her eyes apprehensive as she finished drying her dark brown hair out with the towel.

"This wasn't here before," Haru said softly, looking around the room, right past the crowd of cats watching her every move. She took a step back from the dress, her smile a little nervous.

"Um, it's pretty, but I wouldn't want to steal from whoever's doing this. My other dress was okay," the little girl insisted, still trying to find whoever was ringing the bells.

"Sorry, dear," another grey cat said cheerfully, taking advantage of the girl's turned back to throw the dress at the unsuspecting human. "Our lord was quite specific about getting rid of that dress."

The tiny brunette yelped as the soft garment unexpectedly collided with her back. She quickly turned around, looking everywhere frantically. Finally, her large brown eyes were lowered to the blue dress at her feet. She sighed, and put aside the towel so that she could retrieve the lovely garment.

"All right, I can take a hint," the brunette grumbled as she pulled the new dress over her head.

"Good girl," the creamy cat approved.

After brushing her hair and tying it back with the ribbon, though the bow was a little crooked, Haru looked around the room, possibly wondering if another bell was going to go off as she put on the new black shoes that had replaced the ones she had arrived in, not bothering to argue about them as well.

"Perhaps we should open the door for her," the grey one mused as the human started inching her way close to the door.

"Um, thank you for the food and bath and dress," the tiny girl babbled, looking around the room like she knew she wasn't really alone as she wrapped her familiar cloak around her tiny shoulders. "But I should go find my father now. He's probably worried about me."

"You're welcome, dear," a few of the female attendants said in unison, despite the fact that the child couldn't hear them. She waited for a few seconds, clearly waiting for another bell to ring a tune.

"Go on, dear," the red cat urged her. "There's more than your father waiting for you."

Satisfied that another bell wouldn't ring, the girl ran for the door, and pulled on the handle enough to make it swing open.

"Thanks again," the tiny brunette said one more time before pulling the door closed behind her.

ooOoo

Baron was idly rubbing his favorite cane with a thumb when Miss Haru finally emerged from the room he had set her in. He looked up sharply, noting that blue really did suit the girl better than beige.

"So, now what?" Toto asked from his perch on the feline lord's shoulder, as the little girl looked down both ways of the long corridor, biting her lip nervously.

"Papa?!" she called out, holding one tiny hand to her mouth.

Baron stiffened, muttering a temporary spell to keep the girl's voice from penetrating her devoted father's ears. "I'm not quite sure," the tawny feline admitted, following the girl down one end of the corridor, her curious brown eyes taking in everything with a childlike wonder. "I don't want it to be _too _obvious that she's being led to the rose, or she'll suspect something."

Muta woke up from his nap, purring a bit as he hopped off a random chair to start walking at Baron's side as the little girl continued to call out to her father. "Are ya open to a suggestion, Baron?" the large white cat asked gruffly.

His taller friend nodded. _Any _advice would be welcome at this point.

"Make me visible to her," Muta said firmly. "Little girls just _adore _cats, so if I purr a bit and rub against her leg, she'll probably go wherever I lead her."

Baron considered it for a moment, but found no flaw in the plan. "All right. Just don't wear her out."

Muta humphed a bit as his taller friend began the invisibility counter-spell. "You're _already _overprotective of her."

"No talking, you idiot," Toto hissed as the little girl suddenly stopped walking, and slowly turned around like she expected to see a monster behind her.

Muta clearly wanted to answer that last insult, but didn't dare for the sake of the tiny brunette as she slowly looked down at him.

"Uh, meow?" the fat feline asked a little nervously as the tiny brunette's eyes widened incredulously, and a soft gasp of delight escaped her throat.

"Buta-san! You're alive!" She lunged for the cat, giggling happily and hugging him tight in her little arms as his mouth fell open in horror.

Toto, on the other hand, started laughing his head off, nearly falling off of Baron's shoulder.

The tawny feline cocked his head in curiosity. "Toto, what does 'buta' mean in Jilashin again?" he asked his feathered companion, who struggled to regain his control.

"_Pig_," the dark crow wheezed, sending him into another fit of uncontrolled mirth. But Muta was less than amused.

He growled in hostility as he wiggled out of the girl's arms, and started running down the hallway.

"Wait, Buta-san!" Little Haru cried out, rising to her feet so that she could give chase. "I'm sorry for letting Papa sell you!" she cried out as her feet pounded down the hallway.

Baron shook his head a bit, fighting back a few chuckles of his own as he increased the pace to match the little brunette's. "Any idea what she's talking about?" he asked Toto, who was now flying at his side, but the crow shook his head happily.

"No, but I like her already!" the dark bird chuckled helplessly.


	4. The Rose

**Chapter Four: The Rose**

"I said **don't** wear her out, Muta!" Baron angrily called up to the fat feline, who was giving the panting girl a run for her money as he finally jumped out of a window close to a door that led to the feline lord's gardens.

Haru came to the door, and grabbed the handle. But instead of opening it, her tiny body colliding with the door as she gasped loudly from having to run down two corridors, a long flight of stairs, and across the ground floor of the manor at a fast pace. It was probably the closest thing Muta was going to get for revenge.

"I think… I liked him better… when he was stuffed!" the little girl managed to say through her gasps, which only sent Toto into another fit of laughter.

"Are you _sure _we can't just keep her, Baron?" the crow begged through his mirthful tears.

The tawny feline nodded firmly, looking out the window to Muta with disapproval. "Positive. If you want help insulting Muta, it will have to wait until she grows up."

"Spoilsport," Toto accused as the girl finally straightened, and opened the door to the gardens.

The tiny brunette gasped, slowly coming out of the von Gikkingen manor. With appreciative eyes, she came close to a stone wall covered with climbing vines and roses. She leaned her face close to a pink bud, and inhaled the scent happily as Muta reappeared from around a small pond covered with water lilies.

"Meow?" he asked in an exasperated manner.

Haru gave a single glance at him, and pointedly turned her back. "I'm not gonna follow you anymore," she informed him firmly. "You're mean, and at least the pretty flowers don't run away from me."

Baron didn't bother keeping his laughter in this time, softly closing the door with one hand so that the little girl wouldn't notice. His laughter had a deep tenor tone that probably could be heard from at least a mile around. "I _told_ you not to run her too hard," the tawny feline reminded his fat friend, one gloved hand covering his mouth in an attempt to regain control of himself. "I trust you have a backup plan for your little lapse in manners?"

The large white cat's face became contorted with thought, as the little girl happily moved from bush to bush, almost like a bumblebee, to sample all the different scents.

"Quickly now," Baron urged nervously. "If she picks the wrong flower, it will be disastrous."

"Take the spell off me!" Toto said suddenly. "I'll get her to the rose."

Baron didn't even think about arguing. The crow had already begun his flight when the last of the invisibility spell was cast off of him.

So, it was a huge surprise for Haru to have a crow to suddenly come at her from behind and attack her hair.

She screamed, putting up her hands to bat the crow away, but the bird was already a few feet away, with a bit of blue fabric in his beak.

Haru felt the back of her head, realizing with horror that her blue treasure was gone. "My ribbon!" the girl said in a panic, running after the crow who started drifting gracefully down neatly trimmed paths between the flowers. But unlike his fat feline friend, the dark bird was keeping the pace reasonable, even weaving around a bit so that it would look like a random flight, but it was really so that the little girl could keep up with him.

"Please give it back!" the tiny brunette sobbed, running desperately after the crow as an invisible Baron followed close behind her, his guilt beginning to grow from the little girl's tears.

"Mama gave that to me before she died! _Please _give it back!" Haru begged through her sobs as the crow mercifully let the ribbon fall out of his beak like it was an accident.

The long piece of ribbon floated gracefully to the ground, making the tiny brunette race forward enough to grab the blue trinket, and rub it tearfully against her cheek.

Baron's heart heaved painfully at the pain on the poor girl's face. It began to heave even worse, at remembering just what she was there for.

Haru kissed the ribbon once before pulling her hair back, but then decided instead to stuff the ribbon into a pocket of the dress he had given her, probably so that Toto wouldn't be able to take it away again. She patted the pocket lovingly before her eyes were drawn to the spectacular rosebush directly in front of her.

A soft gasp escaped her throat as her already-large eyes widened further. In Baron's line of vision, it seemed like the reflection of the blue rose was within those brown orbs.

"_Wow_," Haru whispered as she slowly got to her feet and approached the rose that had consumed over two centuries' worth of Baron's time.

The periwinkle petals had opened to their full glory, almost inviting the girl closer as she leaned over to sniff its scent lingeringly.

"Pretty," she whispered reverently, straightening after a moment.

"I'm thrilled that you think so," Baron told her, a soft smile on his lips. "But I would be even more thrilled if you would break its stem."

Almost at the Baron's invitation, one of the girl's tiny hands rose up a bit, and came forward to touch the petals softly. Slowly, oh so slowly, her fingers trailed away from the bud and towards the stem-

"Haru!"

The tiny brunette jumped about a foot into the air, a loud gasp of surprise on her lips as she quickly turned, both hands firmly behind her back.

"Drat it," Baron growled angrily as the girl's father came panting into the little clearing in the middle of the garden.

Like his little girl, the fairly young man had also been given a bath, food, and new clothes. The Cat Lord should have _known_ that it would have taken more than that to keep the father from looking for Haru.

"Haru, why haven't you been answering me?!" he demanded of his tiny daughter, who had taken a step back from the rosebush.

"I'm sorry, Papa," the little girl apologized, looking down in shame. "I just got so excited over all the pretty flowers. See this blue one?" she asked him, gesturing to the rose she had come so close to picking.

Her father stared at her, and knocked the side of his head. "Speak up, Honey. I can't hear a word you're saying."

With a start, Baron realized that his spell over the father was still in force.

Haru cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean, Papa? I'm talking the way I always do. But do you see this rose?"

The man groaned in frustration. "It's a lovely bush, sweetheart, but what does it have to do with anything?"

The girl's mouth dropped open. "The blue rose, Papa! Have you ever seen a blue rose before?" the tiny brunette demanded, putting her hand around the periwinkle petals again to help her father look at it.

He did, but his eyes became a little panicked. "Don't you _dare _pick that white rose, young lady. I still haven't found whoever's in charge of this place, and I don't know how we're going to pay for the food and-"

"It's a _blue _rose, Papa!" Haru insisted, her hand tightening around the stem. "See?!"

And with that, she gave the stem a good yank, breaking it off of the bush with a loud snap.

'_Finally!' _Baron thought as the stem writhed like a snake and wrapped around the girl's tiny wrist tight.

Haru screamed a high soprano as the blue rosebud in her hand glowed a deep sapphire, and radiated its warmth outward until it brushed past Baron and the girl's father, who immediately collapsed on the ground unconscious.

"Papa!" she screamed, running to his side, and nudging him hard on the shoulder with one hand. "Papa?! Wake up! I'm sorry!"

Baron stared at the fallen man, more than a little surprised that the wave of magic had affected him so. "How remarkable," he said softly.

At the soft remark, the tiny brunette stiffened over her father's body, and looked in the feline lord's direction.

Her large brown eyes locked with his slitted green ones, and Baron could see his own despised reflection within those shimmering orbs.

'_She can see me!' _he thought with a panic, despite the fact that he had been bracing himself for this moment since last night.

Her little mouth dropped open with fear and astonishment, and her tiny body began to quake from underneath the sturdy cloak on her shoulders.

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, but could have quite possibly been only a few minutes.

"_Say _something to her, Baron!" Muta whispered angrily from his place behind a rather thick rosebush.

Baron gripped his cane a little harder, and took a steady breath through his nostrils for courage, so that she wouldn't notice his nerves. "Hello, young lady," he said softly.

Haru stiffened at the sound of his voice, and she bit her lip nervously before answering him. "Hello, sir," she stammered, unable to take her terrified eyes off of his face.

Despite her obvious fear of him, Baron had no choice but to smile at the girl's courage. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you pick my favorite rose?" he asked her.

The tiny brunette blinked twice, and started shaking a little in fear. "I… I…" she stammered fearfully. She suddenly bowed to him from her father's side, her gaze to the ground.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly as tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. "I just wanted to show Papa, because he thought it was white, and… here, I'll give it back!" She extended her hand to him, but the rose wasn't in her hand anymore. She stared at her empty fingers with horror, and began a frantic search for the glorious blossom. "Where'd it go?!" she asked in a panic.

Baron couldn't fight a soft chuckle that escaped his throat. "It's right there on your hand," he gently told her, making the girl look at her hand again, but no, it was just as empty as before.

Wait.

The stem was still wrapped around her wrist, _but it was also on! _Horrified, Haru turned over her palm to study the blue blossom engraved on her palm and wrist like a strange birthmark or tattoo. She desperately tried to rub the image off of her skin, but it remained the same as her pale flesh turned red from irritation.

"I'm afraid that rose will be on your skin for the rest of your life, Miss Haru," Baron told her gently, a sad smile on his face and in his heart.

The tiny brunette looked up at him again, her mouth a little open once more. "How did you know my name?" she whispered.

"That is what your father called you, is it not?" Purposefully, Baron stepped closer to the comatose man, and slowly moved a glowing hand over the father's back, using his magic to see what was wrong with the man. "He'll be fine when he wakes up, Miss Haru. The magic was perhaps too much for his body to handle." He looked at her again from across her father's body, causing the girl to lean back from the tawny feline. She was still staring at him fearfully, but she hadn't bolted yet.

Perhaps that was a good sign.

"That rose was a very special one, Miss Haru," the orange and cream cat said softly, locking eyes with her so that she wouldn't look away. "There will never be another one like it, and I had plans for that particular flower. I don't suppose you can pay for it?"

As if he didn't know the answer.


	5. The Deal

**Chapter Five: The Deal**

Haru's charming brown eyes leaked a few more tears. "My papa and I don't have a lot of money," she said miserably. "Papa used to be a merchant before his ships sank in a hurricane and his clerk ran away with the cash box, but now all we have is a cottage one of Mama's relatives left her before she died. That's where my papa and I were going, when we came here."

Baron put one hand to his furry chin in thought. "I see. Well, I'm not about to ask for the cottage. I don't really need one, as you can plainly see." He gestured to his glorious manor with one hand.

Haru looked over, and nodded her head miserably as she bit her lip. "Sir, I'm sorry for taking the rose. It's not that I don't _want _to pay it back, but… I don't know how. I'm not good at anything yet."

A soft chuckle escaped Baron's furry lips. "I doubt that. I believe that the payment should equal the value of the rose. It was one of a kind, never to be seen again."

"But I don't have anything like that," Haru protested, but the tall feline raised one hand to silence her.

"Actually, you do. Everyone does, more or less." He locked eyes with her again, despite the growing inner screams of impropriety his mind was experiencing. "Miss Haru, how do you feel about living here with me?"

Her mouth dropped open in horror. But he continued to look at her, fully expecting an answer.

Haru stole a glance at the beautiful manor before hesitantly turning back to the feline lord. "I… it's a beautiful place, Sir," she stammered softly. "But, Papa needs me right now. Ever since we lost our home in the city, and all our treasures while Mama died from sickness, he's been saying over and over that he's grateful that he's still got me, and that no one could take me away from him. Is there another way to repay my debt? One that won't break Papa's heart?"

"What would you suggest, Miss Haru?" Baron asked, praying that she wouldn't think of staying there _with _her father. Things would be starting awkwardly enough between them _without _adding a protective father to the problem.

'_Say you will come back when you are older. Say you will come back in ten or twelve years,' _he silently begged the little girl.

Haru looked down, concentrating hard. Suddenly, she brightened, showing the feline lord a tantalizing glimpse of a shy smile. "What about timeshare?" she asked him.

Baron blinked once, a little confused. "I beg your pardon?" he asked her slowly.

Haru blushed slightly, and looked down at her father. "It's something Papa used to do with a few of his warehouses. You see, there were certain times of the year when he had nothing to put in them, and his friends had nowhere to put their merchandise. So they worked out a schedule; Papa got to use the warehouse for part of the year, and his friends could use it for the other part of the year." She looked up at him hesitantly. "Would that work, Sir?"

Baron stared at her, completely stunned. He had never thought of that. He turned away from her, thinking it over a bit.

But the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. If she was more or less continually exposed to him at this age, then she would be more used to him when she grew up, instead of being shy and withdrawn for who knew how long before he broke through her defenses.

And since she would still get to be with her father, his guilt for taking the girl away would be lessened considerably. He would even be able to take a hand in her education, and ensure that she would grow into an intelligent young woman, instead of another brainless ornament. She was already showing potential for intelligence…

"All right, Miss Haru," he said, turning back to face her with a soft smile on his face. "I believe your timeshare idea will work quite nicely. But instead of parts of a year, let's say that you change locations every two weeks."

"_Two weeks_?!" the girl asked incredulously.

"Would you care to be away from your father for longer than that?" he asked her calmly.

She stiffened, and slowly shook her head.

"I thought so. I'll make allowances for sicknesses and such, but I'll expect you to return to me each and every time you go to your father. And when he dies, then you will live here with me for the rest of your days. And if, for any reason besides sickness or something reasonable, you are prevented from returning to me, then I will come for you, and you will be mine forever, whether or not your father is still living. Are we agreed, Miss Haru?" He extended a hand over the father's body.

The tiny brunette flinched away from him noticeably, but she took a deep breath for courage, and hesitantly put her tiny tattooed hand in his larger gloved one for a firm but nervous handshake. "Agreed," she whispered softly, her eyes downcast slightly as she gripped his hand fearfully.

Baron smiled at her again, and slowly let go of her hand. "You're much braver than I thought," he approved. "But I hope that you'll come to enjoy your time in my home."

She numbly nodded, but bit her lip again. "Um… what's your name, sir?"

The tawny feline opened his mouth to answer, but then stopped himself. His whole name would be a little much for the little girl to swallow. "You may call me Baron."

Almost like the mention of the lord's name had been a thunderbolt, the comatose father's body wiggled convulsively, and he came awake in an instant.

Having a good idea as to how the father would probably react to the feline lord, Baron stood up and took five steps away to give the man some time to recuperate.

"H-Haru!" the father cried out, making the girl cry out with relief and throw her tiny arms around his neck.

"Papa! You're okay!"

He sat up, and wrapped his beloved daughter into a warm embrace. "Ow," the man wheezed, holding one hand to his head. "Just what happened, sweetheart?"

The little girl in his arms stiffened a bit. "Um… I stole a magic rose, Papa. And I need to pay for it."

"Come on," her father scoffed. "There's no such thing as magic, honey."

"Then what about Baron?" Haru asked, pointing around her father towards the feline lord, who stiffened slightly as the father turned around in confusion.

He gasped in horror, and grabbed his daughter while leaping to his feet.

"There's no need for that," Baron said, smiling a little grimly. "I will not harm you or your daughter."

The man's mouth flapped uselessly, like he wanted to say something, but just couldn't form his thoughts into words.

Haru's arms were still around her father's neck, but she still seemed a little sad. "Papa…" she said softly, tugging on his neck until he looked at her. "I stole his rose, Papa. See?" She loosened her tattooed hand from his neck so that her father could see the flower for himself.

His eyes widened, and he touched her palm with one finger, holding his daughter with just one arm as he traced each engraved petal. "Oh, Haru…" he whispered, fearfully glancing at the feline lord, who towered a good five inches over himself. He bit his lip nervously, and sighed. "About the payment for the rose and lodgings-"

Baron raised one hand to stop the man. "The lodgings were free, as well as the food and clothes. You needed help last night, so I provided it for you. The rose, on the other hand, was _not _free, but your daughter has already taken care of it."

The man blinked slowly, and looked at his little girl, who took a deep breath for courage.

"From now on, Papa, I spend half of my time with Baron. I need to switch homes between you and him every two weeks-"

"What?!" her father demanded, glaring at the tawny feline while gripping his daughter tightly.

Baron smiled grimly. "I _was _going to just keep her, but she talked me out of it. I assure you that she will come to no harm while on my lands, and if you or anyone ever tries to keep her from me, then I can just take her and keep her, and I'm certain that you don't want that."

The father stared at the tall cat creature helplessly, cradling his little girl close like he could stop this from happening, just by keeping her in his arms.

"Papa," Haru said softly, gently tugging on a handful of her father's feathery hair.

He looked at her, a terrible pain in his eyes that had nothing to do with her way of getting his attention.

"If you get yourself into debt, it's _your _responsibility to get yourself back out," she told him very seriously, almost like she was reciting something that he told her often.

Her father's eyes widened, but then relaxed somewhat. "I taught you too well," he sighed tiredly, and loosened his grip on her. "Is there _nothing_ I can do about this?" the man begged Baron, who remained firm despite his growing guilt.

"Allow her to return to me as needed. I'll make allowances for illness and such, but I fully expect you to be as honor-bound as your daughter." The tawny feline snapped his fingers once, making the dark horse the two had been riding the night before appear from the other side of a flowered hedge, his hide brushed to a dark glossy grey and already saddled for the trip. "In fact, I'm certain that you're eager to be on the road again."

"Y-yes." The man sighed, and walked over to his mount to place Haru in the saddle. He put one foot in the stirrup to follow his daughter, but paused, looking at the tall feline nervously. "Then, I'm to bring her back here in two weeks?"

"No. I'll send someone to pick her up, and to take her back to you. She'll be under the best of care, I assure you."

The man sighed, and lifted himself into the saddle, just behind his daughter, and wrapped one arm lovingly around her. "I'll hold you to that promise, my lord."

"Just 'Baron' is fine. May you have a safe journey."

The dark man bit his lip, nodded politely, and urged his steed into a steady trot out of the garden.

Just around her father's cloaked arm, Haru poked her head out enough to look at Baron again. Just before her father turned the horse around a hedge, the tiny brunette even managed a shy smile for the feline lord.

"See you in two weeks," Haru said nervously before she disappeared around the bend.

Baron couldn't help but smile at the girl's courage, somewhat comforted by it as Muta waddled up from behind, and started licking one arm.

"Ya know, Baron? I think that went pretty well."

The feline lord chuckled, and swung his cane softly. "You know what? I feel the same way. Toto, could you follow them, make sure that they are comfortably settled in?"

"On it, Baron," Toto said, flying off of the hedge, and circling once over his old friend's head. "Would you like me to report back before the two weeks are up?"

"Yes, please. I'll have another assignment for you when you return."

The crow nodded once before nonchalantly following the two out the open front gates.

Baron watched the trio go, his heart feeling lighter than it had in years. "Well, Miss Haru," the tall feline whispered. "It will be quite interesting to see what kind of woman you'll turn into."


	6. The New Home

**Chapter Six: The New Home**

Haru looked up at her father a few hours after leaving the Baron's estate, worried by his silence. "Papa?" she asked worriedly. "Are you angry with me?"

The father stiffened, and sighed. "No, sweetheart. I'm angry at myself. You're too young to know better, and I should have grabbed you when I had the chance. I failed you, and now we're both going to have to pay the price for it." He sighed again. "How long is this arrangement going to last, honey?"

Haru bit her lip, and looked down at the horn of the saddle between her little hands. "After you're gone, he'll keep me forever."

The man looked down at her sharply. "Forever?" he asked flatly, making the tiny brunette flinch. He growled, and flicked the reins a little harder to urge Haku into an easy gallop for a while. "What would that… _feline _want with a little girl?" he whispered harshly, holding Haru tighter with one arm.

"I don't know, Papa," she admitted, watching a passing crow with what looked like suspicion. "Maybe he's lonely, and wants a friend."

The father stiffened noticeably, and squeezed her even harder. "That had better be the _only _thing he wants," he hissed, wishing that there was _some _way that he could change his daughter's fate.

He knew well what the agreement meant. His daughter would not be able to cement friendships the way she had in the city, if she was to be gone for weeks at a time.

But Haru was a sweet-tempered child. Not even losing all of her toys, books, and dresses to help pay her father's debt could make her angry with him. But how much more would she have to give up for her time with this Baron?

His poor little girl. She had no idea of the lonely future she had in store for the stolen flower. No sweetheart, no children of her own. Just an overgrown cat that might or might not have honorable intentions, and there was absolutely _nothing_ he could do about it without losing his final treasure.

"Papa," she gasped. "I can't breathe!"

The man blinked, and loosened his hold enough so that she could take deep breaths. _'My poor little girl. I wish there was something more I could do for you.'_ "I'm sorry, honey. I'm so sorry." He kissed her forehead lovingly, and reached into one of the saddlebags to retrieve another piece of bread so that she could have lunch. Granted, the travel rations he had been able to afford had nothing on the fare at the manor, but he wasn't one to complain anymore than his daughter was.

But, when his hand reached underneath the saddlebag's flap, his fingertips met with the slightly waxy skin of an apple. Stunned, he pulled a red specimen out of the bag, and stared at it. "Where did this come from?" he asked himself, knowing the answer almost before it crossed his lips.

"From Baron?" Haru asked pointedly.

He sighed, and handed the apple to her so that he could feel the saddlebag. It was heavy and lumpy, indicating that it was full of fresh food. He reached into the bag again, and pulled out a richly-colored peach. "Is he _usually _this kind to random strangers?" he asked himself before taking a nervous nibble. The flavor of the succulent fruit exploded in his mouth, and coated his tongue in its sweet juices.

He couldn't help devouring the delicious morsel until only the pit was left. He tossed it to the side of the road, and it was quickly followed by the slim apple core his daughter had finished with. She licked the remaining juices from her fingers delightedly.

As the tiny girl licked, she unconsciously flaunted the strange marking on her wrist and hand.

Oh, if he could only afford a pair of gloves for her! A mark like that could quite possibly be enough to have her branded as a witch or a changeling.

He sighed, and opened the purse strapped to his belt to see if he had a spare coin. The food in the packs should be enough to tide them over until he got a job at the village. But who would be interested in hiring him? He hadn't done work by hand in at least ten years…

The purse was open, but it was strangely dark, considering the fact that it was late noon. Puzzled, he reached his hand in… and pulled out a fistful of brass and copper coins. More than what had been put into it.

By now, he wasn't even shocked. He poured the money back into the meager-looking purse, and looked at it again. The little bag _looked _like it had only a coin or two in it, despite how much the man had just taken out of it and replaced.

'_How very clever. Anyone that would care to ask would know that we're poor, so the baron provided us with brass and copper instead of gold. Did he decide to do this before or after Haru took the rose?' _He sighed, and tied the humble-looking purse back to his belt.

'_I just pray that this Baron is as good as he's trying to portray himself.'_

ooOoo

"Papa, do I _really _have to wear these?" Haru asked in disgust, pulling at one of the secondhand gloves her father had bought at the last village, her mother's ribbon back in her hair for a good first impression.

"Yes. We don't want anyone to see your mark, remember?" her father reminded her, pulling the sleeve of her dress so that the green vine would be covered up. "Now, just to cover all our bases, part of our income is being covered by a distant childless uncle, right?"

"And in return for his help with the bills, I spend every other two weeks with him," Haru finished with a tired tone. "I know what I need to say, Papa."

The man sighed once more, and hugged her gently while sitting up a little straighter in the saddle.

It sure would be wonderful to be off the thing for good.

Within ten minutes, the first house of the humble village could be seen. It looked much like the other ones Haru and her father had been through on the two months they had been on the road, but right now, she just wanted to see her new home.

Or, more to the point, her new bed.

Men in cleared fields glanced up from their labors, and a cluster of children that had been playing in the streets ran for their mothers, some of which were sweeping doorways, and others were gathered at the well in the center of the modest village.

But there was one woman that dared to approach the newcomers, with a tiny girl of her own clinging to the back of her homespun skirt. "Welcome to our humble village, good sir. Can I be of assistance?" the dark blonde woman asked with a formal curtsy.

Haru's father smiled softly, and tipped his large riding hat at the woman. "I hope so, Madam. My name is Hasho Yoshioka, and this is my daughter, Haru. I'm looking for the house that used to belong to Shizuku Amasawa."

The woman quirked an eyebrow, but smiled. "I take it you're the new owner?"

"Yes. I didn't catch your name?" Hasho asked politely.

"Nirami Takesho, and my daughter, Hiromi." The blonde woman gestured to the little girl peaking from behind her long cream-colored skirt. She dodged behind her mother's skirt bashfully as the woman turned a bit to shout at the middle-aged man standing in the doorway of what appeared to be a boardinghouse.

"Watch the place for me, Mori!" she shouted at him before gently grabbing her daughter's hand and gesturing with the other for the Yoshiokas to follow her.

Feeling self-conscious about riding a horse through town, Hasho happily got off Haku, with only Haru on the saddle. She frowned a bit, and pulled at one of her gloves again.

"Papa, can I walk too?" she asked, holding her arms out for him.

He sighed, and gently lifted her off. "Stay close this time," he whispered as he set her on the ground, reinforcing the subtle order with a firm grip on his daughter's hand. She pouted a little, but said nothing.

"I'm afraid that the house is a little outside of the village," Nirami said apologetically, allowing her own daughter to run free like a deer. "Shizuku's husband had been very fond of privacy, and I couldn't convince her to leave the cottage after he died. It's not a bad place, solidly built with but a few warped doors and such. If I had heard that you were coming, I would have given the place a good cleaning."

"That's not really necessary, Madam," Hasho protested politely, squeezing his daughter's hand comfortingly. "My daughter and I will need to learn to do such things anyway."

Nirami wheeled around, incredulous. "You mean, you don't already know?"

"I'm afraid not. But better late than never, I suppose."

Tiny Hiromi marched up to Haru, her hazel eyes wide with astonishment. "How come you don't know how to wash a floor?" she asked tactlessly.

Haru pressed herself against her father's leg shyly. "We used to have servants in the city," the small brunette said softly, avoiding the blonde's eyes.

Nirami hummed, looking at the father with sharp eyes. "I see. Well, what is your trade, Master Yoshioka?"

The man squirmed a bit before answering. "Well, I did some woodwork before I became a merchant. Now seems like as good a time as ever to go back to it."

The older blonde smiled approvingly. "You'll be most welcome then, if you're any good. There's always room for a man handy with tools. Ah, here we are." She came to the end of the path, and gestured for the newcomers to get a closer look.

Hasho and Haru took the few steps around the large oak tree, and stared mutely at their new home.

It was a modest cottage, a bit smaller than the servants' quarters in their city home. It was so rustic and removed from the civilized world, compared to what the Yoshiokas were used to.

Haru bit her lip fearfully, and squeezed her father's hand harder.

He looked down at her, understanding of her fear. "Well, sweetheart," Hasho said softly. "Let's go take a look around."

With a gentle hand, he guided his treasure into their new home as a seemingly random crow kept watch from a nearby tree.


	7. The Promise

**Chapter Seven: The Promise**

Haru bit back another cry, tearing her hand away from the harsh weed.

Her father looked over at her sharply, and sighed. "Sweetheart, I told you to grab it by the root so it doesn't prick you."

"I know, Papa," she said softly, rubbing away the tears with one little fist. "This isn't as easy as it looks."

The man sighed, and reached across the neat row of seedling vegetables to hug her softly. "It will come with time, Haru. You just need to keep trying."

A horse whinnied from around the tree in front of their house, making both of the Yoshiokas look over to see who was visiting them.

It was a very tall man, fairly handsome. Behind him was a boy of perhaps eight years of age, his expression slightly bored.

"Hello there!" the tall man said in a booming, almost political voice as he climbed off his horse gracefully, his son following suit in a practiced manner.

Hasho stiffened a bit, rising to his feet and brushing the dirt off of his knees as his young daughter followed the example. "Hello there," the dark man replied politely as the two newcomers approached the garden, and waited patiently on the edge of it until the Yoshiokas worked their way out.

The strange man bowed a bit stiffly, like he wasn't used to it, and smiled confidently. "I'm the mayor of the village, Hayato Mishuzi, and this is my son, Machida."

"A pleasure," Hasho said courteously before gesturing to his own daughter, but the mayor shook one hand lazily.

"I already know who both of you are. It's my business to know all the newcomers."

"Ah," Hasho said, wondering what this slightly arrogant man wanted with him.

"Now then," Mayor Mishuzi continued. "First of all, I'd like to express my condolences concerning the poor luck you've been having lately."

'_He has no clue,' _Hasho thought dismally.

"I understand you were a merchant?" the man continued with interest.

"That's right," the younger man said, a little surprised that he was getting a word into the conversation.

"Were you any good with numbers?"

"I still am," Hasho said, slightly indignant at how the mayor was phrasing the question.

"Excellent," the mayor approved. "Then would you consider working for me? My accountant's getting a little senile in his old age, and his daughter's going to take him to live with her a ways down the mountain in a week. I'm offering two gold pieces a week."

Hasho's heart skipped a beat. That sum was a little less than what _he _used to pay his clerk, but surely it would be enough to support himself and his daughter without the special purse.

Maybe… if he saved enough… he could pay off Haru's debt for good, and they wouldn't have to worry about the Baron anymore. "I would be honored to work for you, Mayor Mishuzi-"

"Excellent," the man said grandly, almost cutting Hasho off as he remounted his horse like he was at a parade. "I'll expect you at the town hall bright and early tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there," he promised, hoping that he would be able to put up with the man's ego. Was that how Hasho used to act, when he was a wealthy merchant? No, he'd at least allow his employees to finish talking before cutting in. But it didn't look like the mayor was going to give _him _that small courtesy any time soon.

The son, Machida, offered to say nothing. Instead, his cavern-like eyes were locked on Haru's face in a slightly chilly calculating manner, which was why she was now hiding behind her father at the edge of the garden in hopes that he would look at something else for a while.

As Machida turned to face away from the humble Yoshioka home and daughter, a thin smile of finality played upon his lips, like he had decided something very important, but didn't wish to share the information yet.

Haru shivered like it was already winter. "I don't like that boy," she said hotly after the Mishuzis were long gone. "He gives me the creeps."

Hasho sighed, and patted her head lovingly. "I'm sorry, Sweetie, but I need this job for appearances if nothing else, so please try to be nice to him."

Suddenly, the young father remembered something he had been meaning to talk to his daughter about, and kneeled in the soft earth so that they could be at eye level. "Honey, there's something else I need you to do for me."

She locked her glorious eyes, so much like her mother's, with him before smiling hesitantly. "What do you need me to do, Papa?" she asked curiously.

The man took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to put it in a way that she would understand. "A week from now, your… _uncle_ is going to send someone to pick you up so that you can spend two weeks with him."

Haru nodded, her eyes becoming a little scared at the code word.

Hasho bit his lip, and spat out the next sentence before he got second thoughts. "I know there isn't much I can do to help, but… if Baron ever touches you, or makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened, I want you to tell me."

Haru cocked her head, still confused. "You mean besides the fact that he's a c-"

Hasho put one hand over her mouth, his eyes giving out a warning as he suspiciously looked around their humble home for unseen ears. "I know cat enthusiasts can be strange, sweetheart," he said quickly, kissing her brow. "But if he touches you or makes you feel scared, you tell me when you get back. And don't tell him I said that."

"I don't understand!" she protested, making her father squeeze her close again.

"That's all right, but will you promise me that?"

"… yes."

He sighed tiredly before gathering the meager gardening tools Nirami had loaned him. "That's my girl."

ooOoo

Haru was awoken from her troubled slumber by an insistent tapping sound. Having never been much of a morning person, the little brunette moaned a little, and turned in her little bed while pulling the thick blanket over her head. "I'll be up in a few minutes," she mumbled, trying to drift off to sleep again.

But then the tapping became more pronounced. At last a slightly muffled voice called to her, not from the door, but from the window above the girl's bed.

"Haru, I need to talk to you. Come on, wake up and let me in."

Her brown eyes shot open, and locked with the dark eyes of a rather familiar crow, just outside the window.

He smiled a little self-consciously at her. "Baron sent me," he added hesitantly.

Remembering her promise to the tall feline, Haru sighed, got to her feet, and stood on tiptoe so that she could loosen the latch and open the window.

The crow flew in gracefully, circling the room twice before landing on the footboard of her bed. "Nice place," the dark bird commented carefully, looking around as the girl snuggled underneath her blanket against the early morning chill.

"Thank you," Haru mumbled, staring at the crow. "Um, could you talk? Before I picked the rose?"

"Sure," he answered, preening one of his feathers. "So could the fat cat you were chasing." Without warning, the decently-sized bird started chuckling evilly. "You _did _know you were chasing a cat, right?"

"Of course I knew!" the brunette flared hotly. "He just looked like my favorite stuffed animal from when I lived in the city, that's all."

"Hey, easy there," the crow said, struggling to suppress his mirth. "It was an innocent question. Sometimes _I _forget that he isn't a pig." He shook his head once more, and got down to business. "Okay, here's the deal, Haru. My name's Toto, and it's my job to take you to and from my lord's estate."

She cocked her head at him, and one of her fine eyebrows went up in disbelief. "That's a long way to walk, Toto."

"We won't be walking. Here's what you need to do…"

ooOoo

"Are you sure about this?" Hasho asked his little girl while loading one of the saddlebags with fresh bread and fruit.

"Toto was, Papa, and we can't really argue with him."

The dark-haired man sighed tiredly, and draped his slightly worn cloak over his shoulders before sweeping the bag into one arm, his daughter into the other, and heading out the door.

Haku was in much better shape when Hasho saddled him up for a ride, but that was probably thanks to the fresh summer grass and long rests that the mount had been entitled to since their arrival. It wouldn't be much longer before he would be ready to help with clearing the land in preparation for next year's garden. As things stood, what was in the garden right now would help the three of them through a very slim winter, and that was _if _they got lucky. The father hated to admit it, but the half absence of his daughter alone would stretch their winter food storage into something manageable.

Hasho sighed, and climbed onto his steed once more, his most precious possession wrapped up in his arms as he urged his mount into a soft trot down the trail that led to the village as the familiar crow sailed a few feet behind them.

Sure, if he truly wanted to, Toto could have just taken the girl from her home, but reasoned that if the villagers could see for themselves the accountant leaving with his daughter, and returning without her, then they would suspect nothing peculiar about the arrangement.

"Hey!" Hiromi protested, running with her stubby legs alongside the tall stallion. "Where are you going, Haru?!"

"To my uncle's. It's part of an inheritance agreement," the tiny brunette said dutifully, clinging to the front of her father's shirt for comfort.

"Well, when will you be back?" the little blonde asked as her breath came in shorter gasps.

"I'll be back tomorrow, but Haru will be gone for two weeks. Goodbye, Hiromi," Hasho said, urging Haku into a slightly faster trot, one that would take him past the town hall before the mayor could come out and stop him.

Even then, one of the mayor's servants managed to run outside fast enough to shout at the horseman as he thundered past. "Yosho!" Atsuko yelled as he desperately tried to catch up with the man, who paused at the village's border just long enough to yell back.

"Tell the mayor I'll be back tomorrow! I have a family matter to take care of!"

With that, Hasho urged Haku into a steady gallop, with only a silent crow able to follow the Yoshiokas as they disappeared into the trees.

ooOoo

"Mr. Yoshioka, _please_!" Toto protested after an hour of fighting tree branches to keep the two on horseback in his sight. "I can guarantee you that no one's following us by now!"

The dark man's head flicked once behind him, and brought his quivering mount to a halt with a sigh. "So, now what?" he asked the bird, who circled around the horse once before landing a few feet away on the solid earth, behind the horse so that it wouldn't see.

"Try not to panic, and keep the horse under control," Toto urged, mentally activating the growth spell his master and friend had given him when the dark bird had reported back after following the two Yoshiokas home.

Hasho stifled a startled oath and tightened his grip on the reins as the crow swelled to a size that was a bit bigger than Haku. "How did you do that?!" the dark man demanded, making the giant bird shrug a bit with one shoulder.

"Magic." With that, the crow took a few steps closer, until he was right beside the nervous mount. "You see the straps on my back, right?"

Now that he was so close to the bird, Hasho _could _just make out a series of black strips that wrapped around Toto's body, ones that blended so well with the dark feathers that it was almost impossible to see unless one was this close to the bird. "Yes…"

"Well, you need to strap Haru to my back."

"WHAT?!"

"Unless you would prefer for her to ride without the straps," the crow added blandly. "But it would be a lot safer for both of us _with _the straps, since Baron promised to pluck every feather from my body if she's harmed in any fashion by the time I get her to him."

"Not if _I _get to you first," Hasho muttered furiously, slipping off his mount and working the straps loose so that he could transfer his daughter to the crow's back.

Almost immediately, the small brunette could find small footholds and handles she could hang onto as her father retied the ribbon-like straps firmly around her quivering body.

"Won't people notice us?" Haru asked in a small voice, clinging to the handholds like a lifeline.

"No. Besides you and your father, no one can see me, or even you, when you're on me. You can thank the rose for that. Is she secure, Mr. Yoshioka?"

"About as secure as she's going to get," Hasho said glumly, kissing his fingers and pressing them to his beloved daughter's face, since it was out of reach for him.

The plan was for him to take refuge in an inn half a day's journey from the village, and return home the next day, repeating the process in two weeks. He looked around, memorizing every tree and rock around them. "I'll see you here in two weeks then?" Hasho said reluctantly, easing his nervous mount away from the giant crow so that he could take off safely.

"Right here, if you wish," the crow concluded, bowing politely before extending his impressive wingspan, and taking off into the sky.

"Bye, Papa!" his daughter screamed as they cleared the trees.

Even after his treasure was out of sight, Hasho stared up into the sky, still wishing that he hadn't needed to let her go. "Goodbye, my child," he whispered. "Come back safely."


	8. The Flight

**Chapter Eight: The Flight**

At first, Haru was absolutely terrified to be so far away from the ground, and to have the wind try to tear the cloak away from her shoulders, but couldn't, thanks to the straps that held it tight against her body.

But after ten minutes, she couldn't restrain herself from sneaking a peak. She opened one eye experimentally, and saw something that literally took what was left of her breath away.

The mountains were long behind them, and before them was a vast carpet of dark green trees that almost looked like a broccoli patch. Here and there a slim brown ribbon of a road was visible, almost like a boundary. They silently reminded her of her own ribbon, making her reach up with one hand to make sure that it was still securely fastened in her hair, which of course it was.

Her father always seemed to tie it better than she did.

"Is something wrong, Haru?" Toto asked, angling his head to look at her with some difficulty.

"No, not really," she answered, putting her hand back in the hold, although she wasn't frightened anymore. "This is kind of fun, isn't it?"

"_I've _always enjoyed it," the crow answered, suddenly angling his wings so that they would start spiraling downward at a soft pace. Just over the giant bird's shoulder, the small brunette could see the baron's estate. From up here, it was even more impressive than the home she and her father had lived in while in the city.

He was waiting for them.

Baron waited patiently in front of his estate as the crow fluttered in midair for a second, and then made a soft landing right in front of his master and friend.

"Here she is, all safe and sound," Toto said with an overdramatic bow, making his tawny friend chuckle a bit as he stepped forward enough to start untying the girl.

"My thanks, Toto. How did you enjoy your first flight, Miss Haru?" the tall cat asked as he gently eased her off of the crow's back and onto the soft grass.

Haru looked at him carefully, now that she had been given time to calm down. Still, she took a second to catch her breath. "I think I can learn to like it," she said softly, realizing with a start that her new… whatever Baron was, happened to be even taller than her father, who wasn't exactly a shrimp by any stretch of the imagination.

"That's wonderful," Baron approved, gesturing with one hand for her to follow him into the manor house. "If you had been terrified, I would have had to have thought of something else. Come along now, Miss Haru. Tea's ready."

Biting her lip for luck, the small brunette took a breath for courage, and followed the orange and cream feline into the stone manor.

At first, she was walking behind him, but then Baron started stepping so slowly that Haru had no choice but to walk beside him. That seemed to do the trick, since he started walking at a regular pace again.

As he led her to a covered pavilion in sight of the gardens, the small brunette couldn't help herself from looking at her companion out of the corner of her eye.

Now that she had calmed down, she couldn't really see anything ugly about him. He was just a very tall cat that dressed and talked like an old-fashioned human. Maybe if she kept that thought in front of her mind, she'd feel better about… whatever this was about.

Was he really a baron, or was that just a name he had invented for himself for her sake?

Baron increased his pace enough to beat the tiny brunette to the neat table in the corner, completely set for tea for two, and eased out one of the chairs for her.

Feeling a little nervous, Haru tried to neatly climb onto the chair, but it was a little tall for her.

She managed it in the end, and scooted as far back as she could as Baron gently eased the chair close to the table again.

He smoothly walked around the small circular table, and eased himself into it with the quiet grace that all cats seemed to have. "Do you prefer milk or lemon with your tea, Miss Haru?" the tawny cat asked casually while pouring matching cups of the steaming liquid.

"Um, milk please," Haru said softly with her small roughly gloved hands in her lap.

"Good choice," her tall companion approved, pouring a bit of light fluid into one of the cups before handing it to the girl, who took it hesitantly, holding it in her hands silently as he fixed his own cup the same way. "Tell me, how are you enjoying your life in the village?" Baron asked politely, sipping his tea while leaning back in his chair.

Haru nibbled her lower lip again, wondering how she should say it. "Well, it's interesting," she said hesitantly.

The tawny feline cocked his head at her, an amused smile on his lips. "_Merely _interesting?" he asked, like he knew there was more that she had to say, but was too afraid to.

"Well, it's not like things were in the city," the brunette added, sipping her tea. With a start, she realized that the warm beverage was the best that she had ever tasted.

"Would you care to elaborate on that, Miss Haru?" the tawny feline gently prodded her.

The small brunette shifted around uncomfortably in her chair. "… it's… a lot harder to live in the village. You need to grow your own food and clean your own house, except I'm not quite sure of how to do it right yet. Hiromi, my new best friend there, keeps giving me advice on how to clean and cook, but she's still much better at it than I am. I'm not complaining," Haru added hastily. "I just need to get used to doing things for myself."

Baron was smiling a bit wider now, but this time the gesture was more compassionate then amused. "I see. It's so strange to see this much maturity from someone so young, Miss Haru. Is there anything in particular that you miss from the city, or do you have no regrets?"

Haru sipped her tea again, immediately knowing the answer, although she was a little surprised that her… keeper? ... cared enough to ask. "Well, I miss Papa's books. He used to have a lot of them."

"What kind were your favorites?" Baron asked, leaning forward a bit with interest.

"Any kind I could get my hands on. I'm not very picky, even when I need to keep someone close by to interpret every other word."

Baron smiled warmly at her, and nibbled at a neat little sandwich. "I must make a point of showing you the library today then. I'm not sure how many books your father once owned, but I hope I'll have enough to keep you happy."

Haru looked at him again, and swallowed her bite of butter cookie. "Um, Baron?"

"Yes?" he asked, looking at her steadily while sipping his tea again.

"What… am I supposed to do here? How will my presence make up for what I did?" she asked in a rush, wondering if she was overstepping her bounds.

He stared at her, like he had no idea of how to answer her question gracefully. His furry mouth opened and closed for a while, and then broke into a gentle smile. "I don't get many visitors, Miss Haru. In fact, you and your father were the only ones I've had in more years than I care to remember. To be as frank as possible, it is _boring_ here without someone to talk to. You're free to do as you please here, but I hope that you will come to think of me as a friend. Do you think that's a possibility?"

Haru stared at the tall feline, hardly believing that the timid guess she had shared with her father had been completely on the mark. Baron was just lonely.

Her father shouldn't have gotten so worried. Friends looked out for each other without thinking twice about it.

The tiny brunette smiled a shy smile, and nodded. It would take some time to get used to Baron's strange appearance, but at least he was nice and honest with her. "I think it's a good possibility, Baron."

"Go fry yourself, you big chicken!" a voice suddenly called from the garden, making the small brunette look away from the orange cat curiously.

The cat she had followed into the garden was running, trying desperately to catch the crow that had carried her to the estate as the crow in turn mocked him openly.

Baron sighed. "You'll learn to ignore that after a while, Miss Haru. I'm afraid that's a common sight around the manor."

"Did you require anything else, my lord?" a cream-colored cat asked the tall orange one, making the human girl stare at the feline maid in shock.

"We seem to be just fine, Jennifer, but thank you," he told her politely.

She bowed low, and ran off to attend to her other chores.

Haru stared at the retreating feline as the taller one smiled gently at her.

"Aren't you going to say anything about living with talking cats and birds?" he asked her gently.

The tiny brunette bit her lip nervously, looking at the white tablecloth apprehensively. "Is the table going to start talking too? What about the teapot?"

Baron laughed uncontrollably, unable to say anything on the contrary for several minutes. _'Things are going to be far less boring with __**her **__around, I think.'_

ooOoo

The first morning in the cottage without Haru had been hard on Hasho. Somehow, just the knowledge that he wouldn't see his beloved daughter today had made getting out of bed that much harder.

Nevertheless, the tall brunette got out of bed, dressed himself, and headed down the modest hallway for a small bite of breakfast before heading to work.

But… there was a delicious aroma in the air, one that spoke loudly of hot chocolate and buttered toast.

Hasho came out at the top of the stairs, and ran down them toward the kitchen.

On the table was laid a small but filling breakfast for one, the aroma similar to the cooking at the Baron's estate.

Hashi sighed thankfully, since he had never been the best of cooks, and ate every bite of what had been laid out before grabbing the handkerchief-bound bento box, heavy with a prepared lunch, and heading out the door.

By chance, as the tall brunette ran out of his house and down the increasingly familiar path, he looked at the neat garden he and his daughter had been carefully nurturing.

Unlike what it had been the previous day, the garden was not only completely weed-free, but also had a number of fresh rows of seedling vegetables, and another row of what he could guess to be herbs.

Everything had been freshly watered.

"Thank you," Hasho sighed out loud before joining the rest of the village in its mundane existence.

ooOoo

The two weeks still seemed to pass with uncharacteristic slowness, despite the lovely meals that were always waiting for the man when he returned home or awoke from slumber, as well as the fact that the family garden never seemed to require his care. Which was good, considering all the spare time he had was devoted to chopping firewood in preparation for cooking and winter, although he even received help in _that _area overnight.

At last, he saddled Haku, rode through the town with naught but a hasty explanation of retrieving his daughter, and rode with all haste to the spot that he and Toto had agreed upon.

So Hasho was resting underneath the comforting shade of an oak tree when the giant crow gracefully swept past the trees, and came to a gentle landing in the small clearing.

"I have a delivery here for Mr. Yoshioka," Toto said with a deep commanding voice, making the little girl strapped to his back giggle helplessly.

Hasho jumped to his feet, and ran for the crow's side. "How are you, sweetheart?" he asked her in a near panic, making Haru giggle again as she reached up to embrace him by the neck.

"I'm fine, Papa. Riding Toto's a lot of fun."

Her father sighed with relief, easing her into his arms lovingly. "Thank you, Toto."

The dark bird waved one wing in a dismissive gesture, although he was smiling around his beak as he walked around so that the human was standing on the other side. "Don't forget the fatso when you leave."

"I resent that!" a voice growled from the previously unnoticed saddlebag that was bulging on the tall crow's side.

Feeling a little apprehensive, Hasho pulled back the flap, and gasped. "_Buta-san?!_" the tall man exclaimed in disbelief.

The white cat hissed, jumping out of his confinement to start howling angrily at the human as the giant bird started laughing fit to kill. "I'll _buta-san _you!" the fat cat yelled, rushing for the father and child as the man quickly retreated with his child in his arms.

But then one of Toto's clawed feet came down over the feline like a cage. "I love this family!" the giant crow cawed joyfully. "I haven't laughed so hard in centuries!"

"Centuries?" Haru asked numbly as the bird nodded, and tightened his grip on the white ball of fur.

"Remember, you'll answer to Baron if you misbehave, Muta," Toto said in a low warning voice.

The fat cat reluctantly relaxed as the father looked at his little girl in curiosity.

"Muta's going to live with us for a while, Papa," the tiny brunette reported. "He's going to teach me how to cook better and other stuff I told Baron I was having trouble with."

The fat white cat growled a bit at the shrinking crow before turning to the humans. "Think of me as a baby-sitter, if nothing else. I'll keep the kid company while you're still working at the mayor's."

Hasho stared at the cat, partially stunned that anything could amaze him anymore. After a few moments, he sighed, set his child on a nervous Haku, and reached down for the fat feline. "I assume you know enough not to talk when other people are around?"

"Of course I do!" the cat snapped at the man as he was gently eased into a worn saddlebag on the man's dark mount. "I'm not stupid!"

"Now _there's_ a question that's up for debate," Toto drawled, cackling evilly as Hasho got behind his daughter, and headed for the inn he had stayed at two weeks prior.

He did his best to ignore the half-witty banter that passed back and forth between the cat and crow, since they were far from people, and leaned close to his daughter so that he could whisper in her ear. "Well, honey? Did he do anything to make you scared?"

Haru shook her head firmly. "He just wanted a friend, Papa. I don't think he'll _ever _want me to be scared of him."


	9. The Sled

**Chapter Nine: The Sled**

Haru frowned in concentration, staring hard at the slim knitting needles in her hands. Spewing from between the two dancing needles was two feet of a dark red scarf that she was planning to give to her sulking father for the holidays, since the Baron would have her for them this year. His only consolation was that he only got her every other year, and every year that Baron had her on the holidays were the same ones that her father got her for her birthday. She had a similar work-in-progress back at her father's house, a light mint scarf that she was going to give to Baron, but working on two similar projects at the same time was drawing her patience thin.

After a few more minutes, the ten-year-old brunette threw the entire project at her cream-canopied bed, and started pacing the room madly. "If I knit another stitch, I'll go mad!" she declared out loud, despite the fact that there wasn't anyone in the room to hear her.

She had to get out of here for a while to clear her mind. But to do what? Baron was reading something right now, and all the servants were usually too busy with their duties to do more than wish her a good day, although they seemed to like her just fine.

Thoughtfully, the young brunette looked out the glazed window next to her vanity, to a nice steep hill glistening with winter snow. She knew from experience that the soft white blanket covering the countryside was nice and thick out there, but she didn't really feel like making a snow man today, and there wasn't anyone she could have a snowball fight with...

Another thought struck her, making the child grin widely while running for her thick winter cloak, boots, gloves, and anything else that would keep her warm.

Haru fought back a wave of excitement as she exited her room, making herself walk at a ladylike pace until she could find someone to help her.

Finally, she spotted a familiar tan cat monitoring the clean up from one of Muta and Toto's fights. This one looked pretty impressive, stretching all the way down the hallway, and turning at the corner beyond her line of vision.

"Nicholas?" Haru called out, running up to the lean feline in charge as he turned to look up at her. "Do you know where I can find a sled?"

"Not off the top of my head, my lady," he said gratingly before turning back to Selene and Diana. "Watch those glass shards, girls! There are some more underneath that chair! I'm sorry, my lady, but no one's used a sled around here for…"

"Many, many years?" Haru guessed sadly, used to the answer by now.

"That's right, my lady. Perhaps the Baron would know?"

The slim brunette brightened, and hugged the slightly stuffy cat once before scratching his ears and running off in search of her tall tawny friend.

Nicholas couldn't bite back the warm smile that crossed his face from the girl's infectious affection, and he was in a decidedly good mood for many hours afterward.

ooOoo

Baron looked up from his book as the large library door swung open, and the familiar brunette walked up to him, all dressed in winter clothing.

"Hi, Baron," she chirruped, hugging his arm once. "Do you know where a sled is?"

The tawny feline stared at her, trying hard to think of where one might be. "I haven't seen one around here since I was your age," he admitted sheepishly.

The small girl's shoulders fell downward, and she sighed sadly. "Okay. I'll go make a snow man then." She turned to leave, but then his other hand automatically flew to cover hers while it was still on his arm.

"But that doesn't mean that I can't make one. Come along, Haru."

The book could wait.

Haru walked beside him excitedly, her hand still in his as he led her down to a room near the boiler, which was filled with all types of logs to warm the estate with. With a precise care, Baron chose five logs of the same width and length, and lined them up to somewhat resemble the shape of a sled.

"That's going to be a little hard to ride, Baron," the small brunette pointed out softly as the tall feline snuck a smile at her.

"Just wait a moment, Haru. This won't take long." He stood up to his full height, and held his hand out over the logs with his palms down. Softly, he began to whisper words of a language most of the outside world had forgotten about, and power began to build within his body. Carefully, he concentrated that power into his hands, which in turn transferred the power over and into the logs at his feet.

In complete amazement, Haru watched as the logs slowly began to change shape and melt together into a solid wooden piece, and shook off the bits of bark that still clung to it so that the surface was nice and smooth.

After it became one piece, the wood flattened further as one end curled up gracefully for the front of the sled, and small holes appeared for the leading rope, which was woven out of the transformed pieces of bark that became soft and supple.

Baron gave the idea another thought, and made the unfinished wood at his feet turn a shade darker from a water-resistant stain. "There! What do you think, Haru?" he asked her as the little girl hesitantly came forward to touch the graceful engraving that trimmed the newly made sled. It even had her name intricately carved between the holes for the rope.

"It's wonderful, Baron," she said in wonder, hugging his legs. "Thank you so much for making it for me."

He smiled warmly at her, and even managed to sneak another hug out of the girl. "You're welcome, Haru. Just be sure to come back inside when it starts getting dark."

"Okay," she said happily, grabbing the rope so she could start leading it outside. But, then she stopped for a second, like she had just remembered something important.

"Is something wrong?" the feline lord asked his little friend.

She slowly turned to look up at him. "No, but… would you like to come sledding with me? It's big enough for both of us."

Baron stared at her. He had never been one for sledding, even when he was her age.

But she _wanted _him to come! He could see it in her eyes.

The tawny lord grinned widely at her. "I'd love to. Care to wait for me a moment?"

She nodded happily, and sat down on her new sled while he came close to running down the halls for warmer clothing.

'_To think; I once believed that the years of watching her grow up would seem longer than the centuries of waiting for her!'_

ooOoo

The servants inside the castle were nearly pinned to the eastern windows, which framed a rather large hill outside the gardens that their lord and little mistress would ride down, and then climb back up in a steady circle so that they could ride down again. Their laughter was accented with steam that escaped their mouths almost like smoke, and smiles were always present.

"You know," one of the older maids murmured. "Baron had always been a little _too_ serious, even when he was younger than the little lady."

Nicholas nodded, a soft smile still on his lips. "She's good for him. He needs to remember how to laugh more often."

ooOoo

"Come on, Hiromi!" Haru called down to her best friend, who was struggling up the hill after her, one hand on the rope of her sled.

"Slow down, will you?" the blonde called up to her, panting heavily. "You know I don't walk as fast as you do."

"Sorry," Haru said apologetically, setting the sled ready in the snow again. "You can be in front this time."

Hiromi smiled brightly, and slipped in front of her best friend while gripping the rope like a lifeline.

"Wait a second!" a slightly familiar voice called from behind them, but it was too late. Haru had already pushed off with one foot, sending both of the girls screaming down the hill.

Haru loved every second of it. Sledding wasn't _quite _as fun as riding Toto, but it was still nothing to sneeze at.

Hiromi suddenly panicked, jerking one end of the rope sharper than the other, making the sled turn sharply and throw both girls off of it. They rolled the rest of the way down the hill, coming to a stop at the bottom.

"Haru!" a familiar voice shrieked again from above them, making the brunette groan in dismay.

"I'm fine, Machida," she called up as the boy jumped off of his horse and attempted to run down to help her without falling over himself in the process.

He failed.

Knowing the boy's pride, Haru stifled a giggle as he rolled down the hill, and came to rest nearly at her feet. Having a tender heart, she even helped the disheveled boy to his feet. "Next time, use a sled," she advised him as Hiromi popped out of the snow, one hand firmly pressed against her mouth in order to keep the laughter at bay.

Machida glared at the lighter girl. "Your mother sent me. She wants you to come home and help with dinner."

"Oh, all right," the blonde muttered under her breath, brushing the remaining snow from her skirt. "Thanks for sharing your sled with me, Haru. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"See you," Haru answered, waving with one hand as her friend trudged up the hill one last time.

"What were you thinking anyway?" Machida demanded as the slim brunette retrieved her sled from the snow bank it had landed in.

"I know Hiromi isn't good at steering yet, but how is she supposed to get better if she doesn't practice? And there _was _all this snow to cushion the fall."

"Not that," the boy said impatiently, his eyes furious. "I mean, what were you doing on a sled in the first place?!"

"Sledding," the girl stated flatly, charging up the hill in an attempt to get away from him. "That should have been obvious, Machida."

He stomped deep into the snow, almost deliberately ruining the sledding course she had discovered. "It's improper for girls to sled around like they're boys," he said flatly, almost glaring at her.

Haru turned around fast, feeling her own temper rise. "What did you say?" she asked stiffly.

"Girls should never sled," he repeated. "They should stay inside the house where it's warm and safe."

"Oh, so having fun is only for boys," Haru responded sarcastically. "Listen, my uncle is about as old-fashioned as one can get, but he not only _made _the sled for me, he even sledded with me every day I'm with him since. And you know what? It's none of your business whether or not I act like a lady every second of the day."

"Bite your tongue!" he gasped. "_Your_ father works for _mine_, so what _you_ do reflects on _me_."

"Then forget that I exist," the young girl retorted coldly, and started running for home, one fist still wrapped tightly around the rope of the sled.

"Not a chance," Machida said haughtily from on top of his horse, not wanting to admit to himself that it was tough to catch up with the brunette when she really decided to run. Good thing he had Tai to ride on this time, so he wouldn't lose her again. "Besides, I'm eating dinner with you and your father tonight."

"What?!" Haru demanded, slowing down temporarily.

"Father had some plans for the booking, and wanted to talk to your father about it after work, so we're eating with you. Your cooking tastes better than Anzu's anyway," the boy added, referring to his own cook.

Haru growled under her breath, wishing that the Mishuzis would stop imposing on her and her father.

At least while she was in town. Apparently they left her father alone when she was with Baron.

What would happen if she made a bad meal for Machida on purpose?


	10. The Boy Problem

**Chapter Ten: The Boy Problem**

Haru never wanted this to happen. If she had known beforehand what things in the village were going to turn into, she would have begged her father to move anywhere _but _there, and he probably would have done it, if she had explained why well enough.

No, wait. She was glad that she had Hiromi in the village, and even Chika, although she didn't really talk much.

But how was Haru supposed to gracefully solve her problem without getting herself and her father into worse trouble? There was no doubt that she had to do _something _about it in the near future, but the question was what?

"Haru?" Baron asked over the breakfast table in the summer-bloomed garden, making the twelve-year-old girl snap to attention in her seat at the small table.

"I'm sorry, Baron," she said sincerely, although her smile was less than so. "I wasn't paying attention. You were saying?"

The tall tawny cat gave her a long look, and put down the teacup that had been in his hands. "All right, Haru; what's wrong? You've been out of sorts ever since Toto brought you here yesterday."

"Nothing's wrong," she insisted without thinking, making her feline friend chuckle softly, although sadly.

"I thought we were past this, Haru. You know you can't lie to me."

Her shoulders fell a little, feeling more than a little guilty from the gentle accusation. "It's just a little problem I'm having at home, and I didn't want to bother you with it," the slim brunette admitted, absently tracing her teacup's porcelain edge with one long finger. Her limbs seemed to get longer every day, making her wonder how much longer it would be until she would be close to Baron's height.

The feline lord leaned over the small table, his glowing green eyes strangely intent. "It could hardly be a _little_ problem, if it followed you here. Why don't you tell me about it? Are you fighting with your father?"

"No," Haru said hastily. "Well, yes, but not really…"

Baron kept looking at her steadily. There was a gentle command in those eyes, one that she couldn't ignore.

"You'll laugh if I try to explain," she added lamely, sipping her tea before it cooled.

"Then I promise not to. Come now, you know you can trust me," he coaxed, making the brunette sigh in defeat.

"Well… it's about a boy."

Baron immediately fell out of his chair.

Was it her imagination, or did her dear friend look horrified? Haru stood up and ran around the table, shocked beyond words that he was being so clumsy when he usually had the smooth grace of a dancer. "Baron! Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling next to him as he just as suddenly hopped to his knees, and gently grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Tell me everything," he ordered, his eyes strangely panicked.

Haru flushed red, but didn't back down from what she knew would be a major embarrassment. "Well, his name's Machida Mishuzi. He's the mayor's son, and is very handsome. All the boys look up to him, the girls are all crazy over him."

Just the thought of the mayor's son made her blood boil.

"And he will _not _leave me alone!" she nearly yelled, rising to her feet. "He's always standing outside the schoolhouse so that I can't escape when he wants to walk me home, he thinks that I'm incapable of carrying anything heavier than a feather, he makes fun of the books I read because he can't understand a word of it, and he keeps coming up with new excuses to have dinner with my father and I instead of just going home, and Papa pretty much has to give into whatever Machida wants, because he works for Machida's father, so I'm left on my own to deal with him. His _ego_, Baron! He can talk about himself from sunup to sundown if nothing distracts himself, and he's forever trying to impress me with his prowess on a horse! But he can't even tell the difference between fish and flies when they're written on paper, because he thinks that reading's beneath his dignity, and he thinks that I shouldn't do it either because my place is in the home in front of the fireplace or something. I just wish he'd take a hint and go pick on someone else that wouldn't mind his attention so much!"

At the end of her little rant, she placed one hand on the little table next to her as she doubled over, gasping from lack of oxygen, mostly because she had somehow managed to say it all in one breath.

Baron stared at her for a moment or two before a helpless chuckle issued from his throat, until he was nearly doubled over in mirth.

A few tears of embarrassment squeezed past Haru's guard, and fell down her reddening cheeks. "You promised you wouldn't laugh," she said miserably as she turned away to head back into the manor.

But then Baron's hand grabbed hers, and dragged her into a warm embrace as the half-cat struggled to contain his mirth. "I'm sorry, Haru," he choked out past a wild smile. "I thought you meant you had a different boy problem."

"Like what?" she muttered gracelessly.

"It's not important," he said, wiping one last tear of mirth from his eye before beaming at the young woman. "How long has this been going on?"

"A few years, but it's been getting worse the past couple months."

"I see. You should have told me earlier."

"But I didn't want to burden you with my problems-" The slim brunette was cut off as Baron gently but firmly pressed a finger against her mouth.

"_Your_ problems are mine as well. But I wouldn't waste any more time worrying about this Machida if I were you. He'll be gone by the time you return to your father's house."

She looked up into his amazing green eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked worriedly. "I mean, I don't want him killed or anything, I just want him out of my life."

"Consider it done," Baron said without hesitation, still smiling widely at the girl in his arms.

"Can you really do that?" Haru asked with wide eyes, almost convinced that the annoying bully was outside Baron's power.

The tall feline in question kissed her forehead once, and held her close again. "For you? Absolutely."

A warm smile lit up her face, and the slim brunette firmly wrapped her arms around Baron's neck for a fierce embrace. "You're the _best_, Baron," she said softly into one of his large velvety ears, making him purr happily and hug her tighter.

Haru had always loved his purr. Baron rarely did it, and he always seemed to be embarrassed when she managed to get him to purr. Would he still put up a fight about it, if she ever told him how much she liked his purr?

With a shock, Haru remembered the promise to her father.

Baron was touching her, and even kissed her, although it was only on the forehead. She should tell her father about this.

And yet… she didn't want to. She understood now what her father was worried about when he first extracted the promise from her, but she and Baron were friends! They could hug each other whenever they wanted to. Besides, she didn't feel threatened in the least.

The more she thought about it, the firmer her resolve became.

Her father didn't need to know about this. He wouldn't understand.

"Baron?" she said aloud, sadly interrupting her tall friend's vocal talent.

"Yes, Haru?" he asked, slightly loosening his hold on her.

"I like your purr. I mean, other cats' purrs are nice, but I like yours better."

A small silence met her words.

"Really?" Baron asked, his voice a little stunned.

Haru nodded firmly, and bit back a few giggles as the purr returned with a vengeance.

ooOoo

Hasho looked up at the sky, startled from his nap as Toto cawed once before making a soft landing on the fresh earth.

Haru had just recently stopped wearing the straps that kept her on the crow's back, so her father was naturally a bit nervous as his dearest treasure swung both legs onto one side of Toto and held her arms out for her dear father.

He ran up to her eagerly, cradling her in his arms for an extra minute after her feet had collided with the ground. "Guess what, honey?! Machida's gone!"

"Really?" his young daughter asked, like she wasn't really surprised.

"Yes, he received an invitation a week ago to train in the king's army, and he couldn't refuse! He tried staying long enough to see you again, but the recruiter wouldn't hear of it."

"Thank goodness," the slim brunette said with relief.

Hasho hesitated, wondering if he should bother his daughter with the rest of the news. "There's something else, sweetheart. He asked me to tell you something for him."

"Oh no, what is it?" Haru asked crossly.

"That he'd come back for you one day. But it'll be years until he comes back from the military, and there's a good possibility that he'll find another girl that suits him a little better before coming back."

She scoffed at her father, rubbing Toto's head affectionately before he took to the skies again. "He didn't chase me because he thought I was perfect, Papa."

"Oh?" he asked while stepping into the aging Haku's saddle, and pulling her up after her so that she could wrap her arms around his chest. "Then why was he stalking you?"

Haru shrugged dismissively as Haku started tiredly trotting the familiar path to the inn again. "Because I didn't want him to, I guess. Machida was never one to back away from a challenge."

It was probably the only thing that the boy and her 'uncle' had in common.


	11. The Comprehension

Author note; Ceysna, if you're reading this, I couldn't email you back thanks to some glitch in the website. Please feel free to paste 'To Every Girl' on your own profile (I pasted it from someone else's profile too, so I can sympathize).

**Chapter Eleven: The Comprehension**

"_And so she worked, day and night, making the dresses for her step-mother and stepsisters. And when they were finally done, instead of being thankful to Cinderella, they ridiculed her efforts on their behalf, and left for the ball without her._" Baron shook his head a little angrily as he passed the book to a fourteen-year-old Haru, unable to keep a slight irritation out of his voice.

Even after all these years, the deeds of the fictional step-family still got under his skin.

The slim brunette smiled sympathetically, knowing his views on the story, and looked down at the book. It had become a cherished tradition for them to read books together for part of each day she was at the Baron's estate, swapping the story between them as they pleased. "I'm still at a loss as to why she didn't just leave that terrible family. Even if she was doing the same work at an inn, her boss and co-workers wouldn't have gone out of their way to make her miserable," Haru noted clinically.

Baron shrugged angrily. "It's psychotic. I've met families like that before. The girl was more than likely told quite forcibly over many years that she didn't have a chance in the outside world, and that she should be grateful for the little they could be bothered to give her in exchange for her extensive labor. You'd be surprised what some people could get away with, once they've convinced someone that they don't matter in the slightest."

Haru darkened, gripping the book fiercely. "Did you do something about those families you met?"

"What I could," Baron admitted ruefully. "They weren't always young girls, though. Occasionally first-born sons were in that sorry position. Sometimes I was able to find different positions for them, but there were five that I couldn't help. It was so sad, to see a good soul beaten into the earth the way those souls were."

Haru couldn't restrain herself. She set the book aside and wrapped her arms around her dear friend in a comforting hug. "At least you tried," she offered hesitantly.

Baron easily wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed gently. "Yes," he conceded. "Still wish I could have done more, though."

She squeezed him a little harder, wondering just how long he's been beating himself up about this. He had such a tender loving heart…

Wait.

Suddenly she stiffened, and looked at Baron's face carefully.

She had never really thought about it before… but he looked exactly the same as when they had first met eight years ago.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her, his glorious green eyes alight with curiosity.

Haru stared at him, suddenly realizing that despite the years she had spent under his roof, she still hardly knew anything about his past. She knew what he loved, what he hated, and what he got passionate about. But Haru didn't have the slightest clue if he had ever had siblings, or…

He once walked around humans? Did he even mean humans, or were there more half-cats like himself?

Why _was _he a half-cat? Just how old was he? Just what did everyone mean by 'many, many years'? How long had he and the others been in this estate?

"Haru, you're starting to scare me," Baron said worriedly, brushing one of his gloved hands against her soft cheek in an affectionate gesture. "Come now, speak to me."

She looked at him a little longer, and bit her lip once before opening her mouth. "Baron?" she asked timidly.

He nodded, and held her a little tighter. "Yes?" he prodded gently, locking his sparkling eyes with her.

"How… I mean, just when…" she stammered, trying to figure out what question she wanted to ask him first.

Baron sighed a little sadly, and hugged her tightly again. "Go ahead and ask your question, Haru. You know I'm hard to offend."

She nodded, and tried again. "You… once walked around outside your estate?"

He flinched slightly, like he realized that he had let something slip. Yet a small smile crossed his lips at long forgotten memories. "You could say that. There was a time when I hardly spent any time here, but that was many, many years ago."

"Just how many years ago, Baron?" she asked intently.

He studied her carefully, like he wanted to answer her, but couldn't think of the right way to. "It's not important, Haru. How about we get back to the story?"

"That can wait," she brushed off, holding his face firmly between her hands so that he had to look her in the eye. But gently. She _did _still like him, after all. "Come on, Baron. You know just about everything about me, but I feel like I hardly know anything about you. That's not really fair."

Her tall tawny friend knew that she had him cornered, if the expression on his face was of any indication. Just barely, she could see him bite his lip as well. "I'm not sure that you're ready to know everything about me, Haru. It's a bit much for anyone to swallow."

"I'm hardly a child anymore," the fourteen-year-old girl protested, but he squeezed her close again.

"I know. Believe me, I _know_." He kept her close for a few minutes, softly stroking her soft brown hair with one hand as he struggled with this strange problem. "How about this, Haru? If you let my past go for now, I swear on my honor that I'll tell you everything you want to know about me when you turn sixteen."

"And not a day later?" she nearly demanded.

He nodded firmly, and even kissed her cheek. "I promise."

She looked at him for another second, but then smiled warmly.

Baron never broke a promise, especially to her.

"Deal then." She kissed his cheek in return, and stole one last hug before sitting back in her chair and picking up the book once more.

But if she had paid attention to Baron while she flipped to the page he had left off at, Haru would have noticed the blush that crossed his cheeks, which not even his fur was able to hide.

ooOoo

The sun began to dip gracefully behind the mountain, making a few chosen boys light the torches in the town square so that the Harvest Dance could begin.

Haru twirled around gracefully in her father's arms as he swung her expertly in time to the lively rhythm provided by Tsuge's lute. The fourteen-year-old girl had decided not to tell her father about the dancing lessons Baron had been giving her for years, allowing Hasho to think that it was his own skill that allowed the slimmer brunette such grace.

Everything just seemed so _perfect _tonight. For a wild moment, Haru wished that Baron could be here to enjoy this with her. It didn't really feel like a celebration without his comforting presence.

But perhaps that was a little much to hope for. Besides, there was a fifteenth birthday party waiting for her when she returned to him. Baron tried hard to keep the celebrations a surprise, but it could hardly be a surprise if it happened every year, even the years that she had her birthday with her father. About the only thing that was a surprise about the party anymore was when he sprung it on her. One year, he was just taking her out for tea in the garden, and another time was when she randomly stepped into the library for some late-night reading. He always pretended to be clueless as to what the occasion was beforehand, though.

But she didn't mind. She knew her feline friend loved surprising her.

Right next to the inn, Mayor Mishuzi watched from the sidelines, a somewhat stiff smile on his face.

The Yoshioka girl seemed to get lovelier every time he saw her, and her accomplishments just as great, despite her strange habit of understating them or blowing them off completely.

Noticing how glum her best friend was, Haru finished one more dance with her father before walking over to young Tsuge. She whispered something in his ear, making him almost stop the music completely in order to look up at her with shocked eyes. He asked something quietly, making the brunette nod and hold one long gloved hand out to him.

She was never without some sort of long gloves over her hands, proving that she was a lady of quality.

Smiling gratefully, Tsuge gave her his lute, and stood up so that she could have his place on the stool. Haru sat down comfortably, and started playing an enchanting melody that soothed the soul.

The reason for her actions became clear as Tsuge bowed low before Hiromi, and gently took her by the hand so that he could dance with her. The blonde's smile was dazzling, and she neatly laid her cheek against her sweetheart's shoulder happily, winking thankfully at her best friend when twirling past her. Haru warmly smiled back, and played a complicated little trill just for her.

The mayor stared at the girl, since her father had never breathed a word about the girl's musical talent. But one look at Hasho's face said plain and clear that he had no clue she could play the lute.

What other talents was that girl hiding?

Smiling grimly, the mayor decided to leave the festivities so that he could disappear into his home.

It was deserted, since his maid and cook were also out dancing, so Hayato lit one candle to guide him up the stairs and into his study.

Smiling grimly, he set the candlestick on his desk, took out a sheet of paper, and dipped his quill in a small jar of ink.

Despite Machida's dislike for reading or writing, he still wrote his father often, perhaps bribing one of his friends in the army to do the reading and writing for him. Still, Hayato needed to answer his son's last letter, and this was the perfect time to do it. He wouldn't have to worry about anyone reading over his shoulder, at least.

_Dear Machida,_

_It's wonderful to hear that you are excelling in the practices your commander has been putting you through. I am torn between wishing that the king would get into a war so that you could prove your worth in battle, and hoping that he will remain peaceful so that you will be free to return home in two years, as was promised in the rather extensive deliberations I had with your commander last year. _

_I still don't understand how he could have thought that your unique commission meant that you would stay in the military until you were thirty. It's so nice to have tax-payers that help me make my point in a pinch like that, even if it did mean some late-night juggling with the books so that Hasho wouldn't notice the discrepancies. Sometimes that man is just a little too clever for my liking._

_I have been keeping an eye on Haru, as you requested. Do not despair, for the lone boy that didn't understand what I meant by 'it's unhealthy to pursue her', was pushed another way by Haru herself. She seems perfectly content to remain single for the present. I can't be sure, but I think she's waiting for you. Perhaps she's realized by now that you are the only one for her._

_We found out just tonight, at the Harvest Dance, that she's been hiding a certain skill with the lute. She's so modest about her accomplishments, I wouldn't at all be surprised if she turned out to be a princess disguised as a simple village girl to escape some dreadful family curse._

_She will make an excellent wife for you, when you return. She is well-respected for her kind heart, and a marriage would benefit both of our families. Haru still visits that uncle of hers, but I'm certain that you'll be able to convince her to either stop going or take you along when she leaves. That old geezer should be getting close to death by now, despite her claims to the contrary, so there's even a chance of a rather impressive dowry when you marry her._

_I have given it much thought, but I have decided not to inform her father of my plans, at least not yet. He can be stubborn at times, and needs to be reminded every once in a while just how much he owes me for being able to stay inside that old house and feed that lovely daughter of his. _

_Don't worry, son. I'll take good care of your future until you can return and claim it yourself._

_Until I hear from you again, I am, and always will be,_

_Your devoted father_


	12. The Accident

**Chapter Twelve: The Accident**

Haru was in the flower garden of the von Gikkingen estate, tending to a rather sickly rosebush with paling yellow leaves. _'I'll have to talk to Baron about this. I could have sworn that it was fine yesterday. But then, I don't have his natural instinct with plants.'_

A slight sound met her ears from just behind her, the only warning she got before she was suddenly swept off of her feet and into a pair of warm arms that she knew better than her own name. "Baron!" she yelped in surprise and protest, but her oldest friend just smiled warmly at her and squeezed her closer, and her head automatically falling onto his shoulder comfortably.

"Startled you, did I?" he asked her teasingly, keeping one hand on her slim waist while slipping his other hand into hers.

"You know full well you did!" she retorted hotly, trying to break away from his embrace, but he was a little too strong for her.

He grinned impudently at her, and squeezed her closer as he gently led her into a random dance around the flower beds. "Just saving up for the next two weeks I'll be without you. You know how dreadfully boring it is here when you aren't around."

"Uh, actually I don't," Haru admitted, giggling a bit. "Before you carry me _too _far away, do you think you could take a look at that bush? It doesn't look so good."

Baron glanced casually at the bush, and stopped twirling his young partner around. "Oh my." He walked over to the sickly rosebush, his hand still on Haru's as he kneeled next to the bush.

Haru kneeled next to him, studying him as he studied the plant.

He hummed softly, brushing the yellowing leaves aside so that he could look at the roots. "Ah ha," the tawny feline said, pointing to a number of rather fat garden slugs gnawing at the roots of the rosebush. "That's enough of that, I think." He snapped his fingers disdainfully, making the slugs disappear into thin air.

"Where did you put them?" Haru asked curiously. After years of helping Baron in his flower gardens, not even snakes could get under her skin anymore.

"I transferred them to the forest, near that one place with all the overgrowth next to the tiny pond?"

"Ah. They should be happy there." Softly she touched the gnawed roots. "Can you save the bush?"

"Thanks to your timely warning, yes." He grinned at her softly, bringing her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss before focusing his magic on the bush. The whole rosebush became edged with frost. "That should hold it until I can whip up a potion to rejuvenate the roots."

He stood up, and helped Haru to her feet. "Now that we have _that _taken care of…" the tawny lord left the idea hanging as a mischievous smile played upon his lips once more.

The young brunette just laughed, and held her arms out to him so that he could sweep her off her feet again in a graceful circle. When her feet collided with the lush grass covering the firm ground, they automatically fell into a pattern that they had done for years.

With the grace of swans, the two danced around the flowers, their locked eyes on nothing but each other.

'_It's so strange,' _Haru thought to herself as Baron led her into a dip. _'When I first started coming here, my visits felt longer than eternity. But, for the past few years, it's my time at the village that feels like forever.'_

Suddenly, one of her feet didn't quite go where it was supposed to go, and tripped Baron badly enough to send them both down the hill that bordered one side of the garden.

The same one, in fact, that the two still occasionally sledded down during the winter.

Haru yelped loudly as her hands automatically grabbed the front of Baron's jacket, his warm arms wrapped tightly around her slim body, and they collided harshly against the steep ground.

For the years that he had been giving her dancing lessons, it was always clear to the young brunette that when Baron twirled her around, she was the one being manipulated. But, for some strange reason, it felt like it was the two dancers that were remaining perfectly still, and the world was in fact rotating tightly around them, slowly working them towards the bottom of the slope.

When the ride finally came to a stop, it felt like Haru's brain was still spinning around in her skull, and she couldn't quite see straight.

And… for a reason she couldn't figure out… she couldn't get her breath back. Haru took as much of a steadying breath as she could manage through her nostrils, and opened her eyes.

The slim brunette had grown used to Baron's face, even seeing a subtle beauty in his gold and ivory colored fur. But something that she most definitely _wasn't _used to was how close that familiar face was to hers. It was even closer than when they exchanged polite kisses on the cheek.

Since her own eyes were open, she could see Baron's glorious green eyes open as well. They were confused, distracted, much like her own had been a few seconds before. But then they sharply snapped back into focus as he took a quick evaluation of just how they had landed.

It was scandalous enough that he had come to a stop right on top of her, and to have his arms wrapped possessively around her the way they currently were, but to have their lips pressed firmly against each other in an accidental kiss?!

Baron pounced off of her like he had been electrocuted, landing a good ten feet away, thanks to his feline abilities. He stared at her, almost fearfully, as she sat up from the soft grass, staring right back at him.

Her usually pale cheeks turned red, and her breath kept catching in her throat, stifling any sound that might have issued from her. _'What… what… happened just now?' _Her heart pounded fast and loud, a sound she feared the baron could hear with perfect clarity, making her blush even worse as her breath continued to come in short irregular spurts.

Without warning, her body, her very soul, _begged _for Baron to take her into his arms again, but kiss her for real this time. She _wanted _him to kiss her, and to feel his warm touch on her skin.

"H-haru," the feline lord stammered in a manner not unlike a young boy. Even through the fur, she could tell that he was blushing deeply as well. "I meant no disrespect. It's…" He struggled to find an excuse for what had just happened, but no words would come to him.

She managed a soft smile, and snuck a glance at the hill they had just rolled down. "It's my fault, Baron. I'm the one that tripped you. Can you forgive me?" she asked timidly. It was her own clumsiness that had landed them in that extremely scandalous position, but she couldn't quite make up the part of her mind that was still working as to whether or not she wished she could have prevented it.

He stared at her again, and slowly walked back to where she was still sitting like he was approaching a raging beast. "There's nothing to forgive, Haru. Are you hurt?" he asked, extending a hand to her so that he could help the slim brunette to her feet.

"I don't think so," she said cautiously, inexplicably avoiding his eyes, lest another hot blush would cross her fair cheeks again. She somehow knew that they would be burning for hours. "You?"

"I'm fine," he said after a moment, still staring at the young woman before him. Slowly, he raised one arm to her. "I think it might be best if we go inside for a while, Haru."

"Sure," she answered breathlessly, taking his arm almost like he was a stranger all over again.

For the rest of the day, her brain refused to function, and her heart jumped around inside her chest like an excited jack rabbit, especially when Baron was around.

And he was around her a lot, although he was quieter than she could ever remember him being.

In fact, it wasn't until the next day when Toto flew her away from the estate that she dared to raise her fingers to her lips, like the touch of Baron's had somehow changed them.

ooOoo

Hasho looked over one shoulder as he patted the aging Haku's head, concern evident for his daughter. "Haru, are you _sure _nothing's wrong?" he asked her yet again, only to have her nod numbly and tighten her grip on him slightly.

"I might be coming down with a cold," she murmured softly, since she wasn't about to tell her father what had happened between her and the baron. He'd more than likely blow it all out of proportion.

He reached back with one hand, and felt her forehead carefully. "Yes, you are a bit warm," he noted clinically. "I'll have to ask for some chicken soup when we get to the inn."

"Father!" Haru protested as her flesh recoiled in horror. "You know I could never eat a _bird_!"

He stole a glance at her over one shoulder, and laughed softly. She had told him enough about her time at the von Gikkingen estate to know about her many feathered friends.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I forgot. How about some beef or fish broth instead?" Hasho offered in an apologetic manner, one hand running through his graying hairs nervously. There were now only a few traces of the chocolate strands in his hair now, and his forehead was now covered with wrinkles.

Hasho liked to privately blame the infuriating mayor he toiled under for his slightly premature aging.

"That would be nice," Haru said gratefully, nuzzling one cheek against her father's back in a tired manner, despite the fact that she hadn't done anything strenuous since her dance with Baron the day before. Her cheeks flushed red at the mere memory of how his lips had felt on hers, and her heart began to pound loudly again.

'_No! Get control of yourself, Haru! You don't want to have to explain to Papa what happened, do you?!'_

An even deeper blush crossed her cheeks.

'_Why am I making such a fuss over it, anyway? It's not like I planned to trip Baron, and nothing happened! Nothing at all!'_

Still, the slim brunette had the feeling that an unknown bridge had been unintentionally crossed and burned after her. Something had changed about her friendship with Baron, but for the life of her, Haru couldn't figure out what it was. They acted exactly the same towards each other as they had for years…

Except that Baron hugged her and swung her into random dances more often, and would look at her more. Not that she was bothered by his increased attentions, but was there something significant about it?

No, of course not. They had been friends forever, and they always would be. No random accident could destroy what she and Baron felt for each other.

But as her father slid off Haku, and helped her down before tying the horse out front so they could enter the familiar inn, the slim brunette couldn't quite put her feelings for Baron in a certain category.

The door to the Leaping Lion slowly swung open, revealing Akio the innkeeper to be accepting a handful of copper coins from a solidly-built soldier, judging from his immaculate uniform.

"My wife will have dinner ready in a few minutes, young man. Ah, Hasho, Haru!" Akio beamed warmly at them, stepping around the soldier in order to warmly clasp hands with the father, and hold his arms out familiarly to the daughter. "It's so good to see you!"

Haru backed away from the innkeeper's embrace to solidify her little lie. "That wouldn't be wise, Akio," she apologized, faking a sniff. "I'm coming down with something, and I wouldn't want to get you sick."

The innkeeper shrugged with a laugh, taking a step back from her. "Thank you for the warning. You _do _look a little flushed. I'll ask Akiko to warm up some chicken broth and tea for you."

"No chicken," Hasho said hastily. "Remember, she won't eat it."

"All right, perhaps some toast instead with an herbal tea. I'm afraid that's all I can offer you, Haru," Akio said apologetically.

"Haru?" a voice asked incredulously from behind the innkeeper, who turned to look at the soldier he had been bargaining with.

The blue-suited officer stared at the slim brunette as a slow smile crossed his lips, one with a trace of arrogance to it. "It _is _you! Haru, don't you recognize me?" he demanded.

The young woman looked at him as her heart sank to her stomach. His dark hair was cropped shorter than she remembered, and he had filled out considerably to accommodate his now broad shoulders, but she would know those cold eyes anywhere. Unfortunately.

But didn't Baron take care of him?

She sighed tiredly, and bowed slightly in acknowledgement. "Hello, Machida."


	13. The Pest

**Chapter Thirteen: The Pest**

Machida was going to be an even bigger problem than he had been when they were little, Haru reluctantly concluded as she sipped the last of her tea and allowed Akiko to take her plate away the next morning. The dark soldier had already glued himself to the seat next to her, forcing the father to sit on the opposite bench with a scowl.

"I hope you'll be feeling better," the innkeeper's wife said comfortingly before she disappeared back into the kitchen with her ten-year-old daughter, who was carrying her father's dishes.

Hasho sighed, and stood up from his seat. "We'd better get going," he informed his daughter, making the mayor's son also stand up, and offer a hand to the girl at his side.

"Splendid idea! Why don't we all ride together?" Machida quickly suggested.

Hasho shared a quick glance with his daughter, who was standing up without the soldier's assistance.

"I don't see why not," she said with much reluctance, tightening the cloak around her shoulders with one hand, like doing so could protect her from Machida's assumptions.

Machida proudly walked in front of them to the stables, clearly making a conscious effort to make his stride long and smooth.

Haru shook her head angrily at him, since he couldn't see it. Didn't he realize what a fool he was making of himself?

As her father gently led Haku from his little stall, Machida ran for the back of the stables.

Almost like lightning, he came back, leading a fine-looking black stallion by the reins. "Isn't he superb?" the soldier said adoringly, petting the dark mane lovingly.

"Yes," Haru said shortly, following her father out of the stables. Once out in the open, her father turned in order to help his daughter on.

"Wouldn't you rather ride with _me_, Haru?" Machida asked, holding a hand out to her again. But she ignored him, and allowed her father to help her onto Haku. Hasho climbed on as well, and clucked his tongue at the old gray stallion to get him moving.

Machida looked at them, his hand closing into an irritated fist. He could only imagine what Haru's hand felt like, and knew that it had to be good. He grimaced slightly, but then resumed a smile as he easily urged his mount into a canter that matched that of the older stallion's. "So tell me, is there anything new in the village?" the soldier asked casually.

Haru's lips tightened slightly as she pressed her head into the space between her father's shoulder blades.

Her father took the hint. "Well, Jui moved down the mountain two months ago, and old Nashi drank himself to death last year. Chika and Shiro got married and are expecting a child, and Hiromi and Tsuge are getting married in another week."

"How wonderful," Machida murmured, his cold eyes still on the slim brunette. "Isn't marriage grand, Haru?"

She shrugged, and tightened her grip on her father. "To those that can. I haven't been feeling well, so would you mind keeping quiet for a while?" she asked tiredly.

Machida smirked at her, but didn't say anything further… for now. _'Things have changed, Haru. You won't be able to run from me for much longer. What I want, I always get in the end.' _

ooOoo

"Are you _sure _you don't want to ride with me the rest of the way?" the soldier pleaded with the young girl, who remained firm.

"Haku is plenty for me, thank you." _'And I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of riding into town with me on your horse like a prize of war,' _she thought fiercely.

Machida scowled, confirming her suspicions in full, and rode a little ahead of them so that he would be the first one that the mountain villagers would see.

The reaction was far more satisfactory then what he had gotten out of the Yoshiokas.

Tsuge looked up from his wood-chopping near the inn, and ran to meet his childhood friend enthusiastically. "Machida! I thought you wouldn't be back until you were thirty!"

"I managed to persuade them otherwise," the soldier replied coolly, stepping down from his horse to clasp hands with his friend. "I hear you're getting married next week," he added, watching the rapid departure of the aged grey stallion up the lonely trail that led to the Yoshioka home.

"That's right. I asked Hiromi last month," the woodsman said happily. But he didn't miss the fact that his long-gone friend's attention was divided. "But I'm pretty sure that's not why you're back."

Machida smiled grimly, and nodded. "My father's still in his office, correct?"

"Of course."

The soldier smiled again, and clasped his friend's shoulder one more time before heading down the road. "Excellent. There's much I need to speak with him about."

ooOoo

"I just don't understand!" Hasho said once more as he shoveled hay into Haku's stall while Haru brushed the horse's thinning fur. "He was supposed to be gone until he was thirty! Why is he back?!"

"I don't know, Papa," Haru said tiredly, turning her attentions to the saddle and emptying out the bags from the travel rations.

The slim brunette had never told her father what Baron had done for her to keep Machida away, but she was more than certain that her feline friend had meant for the arrogant boy to keep the entire commission.

Oh well. All this meant was that she needed to avoid Machida for the two weeks until she could return to Baron, and ask for the soldier to become a sailor or get called back to the military.

Haru suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Unless… this _wasn't _an accident. What if this was Baron's way of telling her that she needed to deal with Machida on her own in a 'tough love' kind of way?

Well, whether or not that was the intention, Haru was certain that she'd have to do something to neutralize Machida, and soon.

Maybe he'd understand if she just told him that she despised him.

Nah, that would just go over his big head. She'd have to be more forward than that.

ooOoo

"Just a little longer, Hiromi," Nirami soothed her daughter as she quickly but neatly slipped a few more needles into the long white dress she was standing stiffly in. "How about that, Haru? Is the hem straight yet?"

"Lower the left side by a finger's width," the brunette reported before returning to the delicately beaded flower crown she was making.

The mother did so carefully, but then stopped. "Her left or mine?"

"Yours. Don't worry, its perfect now." Haru twisted a loose wire out of sight, and stood up in order to walk over to her best friend, and place the fruits of her labor on the bride's soft blonde hair. "There. Should we get the veil, or is this enough for now?"

Nirami burst into tears at seeing her daughter in her wedding gown. "She's beautiful! My baby's grown up and getting married!" she wailed as tears streamed down her face.

Without even thinking, Haru wrapped her arms around the middle-aged woman, and squeezed her softly. "Look at the bright side," the brunette said cheerfully while patting the weeping woman's back. "You'll have babies to play with within a few years' time."

"_HARU_!!" Hiromi protested as her face turned dark red.

The brunette grinned impudently at the bride, and winked mischievously. "Just trying to cheer up your mother," she explained in mock-innocence.

Hiromi glared at her best friend, and looked at the mirror in her room to see how she looked. "I can't wait until you get married," the bride muttered furiously. "I'm going to get you so bad-"

"I'm not getting married," Haru interrupted firmly, absently reaching toward the crown to bend a beaded flower into a more favorable position.

"I didn't say this week," Hiromi protested, looking at herself in the mirror. "I'm sure Machida will court you longer than that."

"No he won't!" Haru asserted defiantly. "He's not going to court me at all!"

Nirami looked up from her tears in confusion. "I don't understand. I thought you were _waiting_ for him to return and claim you as his own."

"I most certainly was not!" the brunette replied hotly, helping Hiromi out of her wedding dress so that they could finish sewing it. "I've despised him ever since we met!"

Hiromi stumbled in shock, almost ripping the dress in the process. "But…" the blonde stammered. "You never said that before."

"I was trying to be civil," Haru explained, pulling the simple dress onto her lap so she could start sewing the remaining seams. "My mother used to tell me all the time before she died that you should be nice to everyone, even if you don't personally care for them." She laughed bitterly. "Machida's the only person I've ever hated on sight. His arrogance just made it worse."

Nirami stared at the normally sweet-tempered girl, shocked to see this side of her. "You've hidden your distaste very well. Everyone in the village expects to hear of your betrothal before the end of the month," the middle-aged innkeeper finally managed to say.

Haru smiled grimly, and kept stitching. "They're in for a nasty surprise then. If Machida's foolish enough to propose, I'm going to finally tell him how I feel about him, and I don't care if everyone in the village hears me."

The next part spilled out before she could try to stop it.

"Besides, I think I'm in love with someone else."


	14. The Realization

**Chapter Fourteen: The Realization**

Mayor Mishuzi stared at his accountant in disbelief. "What do you mean, 'no'?" he asked suspiciously.

Hasho glared at his employer, and slammed his armful of paperwork onto the man's desk. "I mean precisely what it sounds like I mean. My daughter will _not _marry your son, end of discussion. Have a nice day, sir."

ooOoo

"Wait a second!" Hiromi screeched, grabbing her best friend by one arm. "You're in love already?! With whom?!"

Haru slapped one hand against her mouth in shock. "Did I really just say that out loud?" she whispered in horror.

Nirami nodded, and gently took the dress away so that she could work on it herself. "Why don't you tell us about this young man, dear?" the older woman suggested gently, sensing that the girl had a story to tell.

ooOoo

"Hold it!" Hayato nearly screamed, storming out from behind his desk to grab Hasho's shirt. "Is my son not good enough for her?!"

"I guess you could say that," the accountant said coldly, pushing the man away. "He's not suitable in the least for my Haru."

"Why not?!" the mayor demanded, making the slightly younger man laugh cynically.

"For starters, she can't stand him. When she came home and found him gone, all those years ago, she was _happy_. She needs someone that can make her that happy by being _near _her, not away."

ooOoo

Haru had to think fast, to put this in terms that wouldn't t her into trouble. "Well, he's a friend of my uncle's, a minor nobleman. He's around my uncle's place a lot, and is very smart and sweet. He's the perfect definition of a true gentleman."

"Sounds dreamy," Hiromi commented. "Is he handsome?"

Haru opened her mouth, but hesitated, thinking of her dear feline friend. She hadn't really thought about his appearance since she had tried to find out about his past. She had been terrified of him when they first met, but now…

"… yes," Haru finally concluded.

Hiromi looked at her friend suspiciously. "Why such a long pause?"

ooOoo

Hasho smiled grimly, and opened the door to leave for the day. "Besides, her uncle has a large claim on her, too. In order for her to marry, one would need not just my permission, but his as well. And I can flat out guarantee that even if you managed to find him, since I won't help you with that, **he** wouldn't agree to marry her off either."

"Why not?!" Hayato demanded in a panic. "Is she already promised to someone else?"

And just like that, Hasho saw his way out of the village, and away from the Mishuzis, for good. "Why, yes. Actually, she is."

ooOoo

Haru sighed tiredly. "He's a recluse, because he got horribly scarred many, many years ago. My uncle isn't exactly a prize in the looks department either, so they get along well. I've learned not to judge by appearances, so he enjoys my company as well. He's very passionate about gardening and books, plus he plays a wicked game of chess and heartbreakingly beautiful music on just about any instrument he puts his hands on. When I said he was handsome, I was talking about his heart."

Soundlessly, she looked at the gloved hand that was imprinted with the blue rose that had sealed her fate. "We're good friends," she added, opening and clenching her fist thoughtfully, like doing so would enable her to feel the individual petals in her palm. "And that's part of the problem."

ooOoo

"To whom is she betrothed?!" the mayor screeched, making the accountant smile grimly, and leave the office.

"None of your business. Either way, we'll be moving to my uncle's a week after dear Hiromi's wedding to Tsuge so that Haru can meet the fellow, and we can discuss when to have _her_ wedding."

"No!" Hayato leapt after his employee, who in turn ran down the stairs and out the door. "Isn't there a way to call off the engagement?!"

"No," Hasho said coldly, shaking the mayor off the arm he had been clinging to. "Once a Yoshioka gives their word of honor, the debate's over. Haru promised she would marry whomsoever her uncle chose for her, and that's precisely what she's going to do."

"I'll throw you out of your house and into prison," Mayor Mishuzi blustered. "I'll withhold food and water, and you'll die from starvation unless you end the engagement!"

ooOoo

"How can that be the problem, Haru?" Hiromi asked curiously. "From the sound of things, you could have him wrapped around your finger in a heartbeat."

The slim brunette laughed softly. "It's a little late for that, Hiromi. He's _been _wrapped around my finger for years. If I were a little more selfish, I'd be one very spoiled young woman, between my uncle and my dear friend. Whatever I want when I'm with them, I get, although I don't ask for much. I just like being with them, but I'm scared to death of endangering my friendship with Baron. I'd rather lose an arm than him," Haru finished, her voice turning soft with memories of long rainy days spent in the library with her feline friend, warm by the fire with a cup of his special blend of tea. His name had slipped out, but she wasn't about to make a fuss and draw attention to the slip of the tongue.

Despite the miles between them, she could clearly hear Baron's warm, comforting voice as he read of knights, physics and philosophy. There were many more things they read together, but for some reason, Haru couldn't remember all of them. All she could remember was how happy she was, whenever Baron was close to her.

How happy _he _made her.

ooOoo

Hasho looked at the man he had selflessly toiled under for ten long years, straining to make himself independent of the Baron and provide a good life for himself and his daughter.

It was so strange, that he now _preferred _being indebted to a giant cat over this egotistical bigot.

"Go right ahead," Hasho said quietly, looking the mayor in the eye. "My only regret would be that I wouldn't get to see my uncle tear you limb from limb with his bare hands if you did that. He's terribly fond of both my daughter and myself, and throwing me in prison for slighting your family won't exactly make Haru like you and your son any better."

To be honest, Hasho wasn't all that certain of just how fond Baron was of him, but knew for a fact that the tall feline cared deeply for his daughter. The countless books he let her borrow, as well as the extra help around the house that the accountant received at home when his daughter was with the Baron, was enough to convince him of _that_. He was more than certain that the lord would do something to reprimand the Mishuzis, out of affection for Haru if nothing else.

"My family has been very patient, putting up with yours for all these years, and now, we will be free from your bondage forever. Go ahead, fire me. No, let me save you the trouble," Hasho said in an indifferent tone, firmly turning his back on the mayor.

"I _quit_!"

ooOoo

"Um, Haru," Hiromi said in a hesitant voice. "It looks like the battle's already lost. You belong to this Baron just as much as I belong to Tsuge."

Haru looked up from her rose-encircled fist to stare at her best friend. Her lips moved slightly, but no sound came forth.

Yes. It all made sense now. _That _was why her heart had beat so loudly in her chest when locked in his embrace, and his lips covering her own. And why she had enjoyed it so much. Why she just plain enjoyed _him_.

She had fallen in love with Baron.

Nirami sighed, and leaned over the dress to take the spelled hand gently, although she thought it was merely gloved. "Haru, it's all well and good that you chose to share this with us, but the one you really need to talk to is Baron. Does he have any friends, besides your uncle?"

Mutely, Haru shook her head. She was pretty certain that the servants didn't count in this regard, and Baron would have told her by now if he was involved with another girl.

"Then it sounds to me that he needs you just as much as you need him. Go ahead and tell him how you feel, Haru. The worst he can do is say he wishes to remain friends, but I have a very strong feeling that your love is returned in full."

Haru looked up into Nirami's hazel eyes with undisguised longing. "Do you really think so?" she asked in a soft hesitant voice, making Hiromi laugh.

"Come on, Haru! How could he _not _love you?!" the blonde demanded, hugging her best friend tightly. "You _will _stop by every once in a while so Mama can play with _your _babies too, won't you?"

Haru blushed a deep magenta color, wondering just what her children with Baron would look like, if her feelings truly were returned. "I'm pretty sure I can do that," Haru offered with a nervous giggle, making her blonde friend laugh as well, her revenge complete.

The slim brunette laughed easier, and hugged both the prospective bride and the bride's mother happily. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" she nearly wept to them. The young brunette had no idea how Baron would react when she told him what was in her heart, but now that she herself understood what was in it, there was no way on earth that she would be able to keep from telling him of her love.

"You're welcome, dear. Your father should be home soon, and he'll be hungry for supper," Nirami suggested gently, making the girl in her arms nod happily, and kiss her cheek gently before whipping her small basket into the crook of one arm and running out the front door.

"Thanks again," she called over one shoulder before disappearing out the door. She nearly ran into Machida, who was nearly standing outside the inn with a bouquet of wildflowers for her.

"Oh, Haru!" he exclaimed with a confident grin, but she was already running past him, like he wasn't even there. "Wait, Haru!" he called after her, but, it appeared that she was even faster than he remembered her to be, almost skipping with unsuppressed happiness as she ran.

And he was without his horse.

"I bought the ring!" he cried at her as he attempted to run after her, but if anything, that proclamation just made the girl run faster.

ooOoo

Her father was also in a good mood when she walked through the front door, whistling happily as he cut up vegetables for the stew. "I have excellent news, Sweetheart. _I quit my job_!" he sang out in a deep baritone, suddenly sweeping his daughter into a random dance around the small kitchen, just like he used to do with his wife.

Since Haru was just as happy as he was, she laughed and willingly danced in her father's arms. "You're going to blow our cover," she laughed helplessly, keeping her arms around his neck in a tight hug as he swung her around.

"Not a chance," he crowed. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but I told the mayor that you were betrothed to one of your uncle's friends to get him to leave me alone about engaging you to Machida. We'll have to move a week after Hiromi's married to cover up my lie, but we don't have to put up with the Mishuzis anymore!"

Haru laughed happily, not believing that this day could be so wonderful. In ten days, she would return to Baron with her father, never to see the Mishuzis again except for short visits to Hiromi.

She would tell Baron the truth about her feelings… and pray that he felt the same.


	15. The Chagrin

**Chapter Fifteen: The Chagrin**

Machida dropped the handful of flowers he had been holding, his horrified gaze locked on his father. "_Engaged_?!" he whispered angrily, making the mayor nod numbly.

"To some friend of her uncle's. Hasho said that his daughter's betrothal had been in the works for years."

"Did you catch a name?" the soldier demanded, making his father shake his head slowly.

"Come to think of it, I've never even heard the uncle's name. I tried threatening Hasho into reconsidering, but it didn't work. He even _quit_ his job to get out of it."

Machida slammed a fist into the wall he had been pacing towards. "How dare she!" he yelled. "She's mine! She's _been _mine ever since we met!" He threw more and more punches into the wall, until the paint had been scraped away by his knuckles and the plaster began to crack.

"I'm sorry, son," Hayato said tiredly, leaning over his desk to hold his head between his hands. "I should have done something years ago, when I had the chance. I was so _sure _I had Hasho right where I wanted him."

"Never mind, Father," Machida said after pounding the plaster into thin shards. He smiled grimly, and raised one fist. "I just have to prove to Haru once and for all that _I'm _the one for her, and not some rich rat."

ooOoo

Haru adjusted the lily in her hair slightly, sitting next to her father on a log bench as the entire village watched the village priest bind Hiromi and Tsuge together for the rest of their lives.

True, the slim brunette couldn't be happier for her dear friend. But to be honest, her mind was miles and miles away, at Baron's estate. She was more than certain that her feline friend would be more than happy to house her father as well as herself, until her father found a new place to call home.

That is, _if _he chose to find a new home. He could very well decide to stay with her and Baron.

Without warning, she blushed. Just how would her Papa react, when he found out that she had fallen in love with Baron? He couldn't keep her away from the feline lord without losing her himself, and she knew that if Baron _really _wanted to be alone with her, he could take steps to ensure that privacy.

Her father would throw a tantrum, she was sure of it. Well, maybe if she gave him enough time to get used to the idea, he wouldn't mind so much. After all, it wasn't like she could marry anyone _but _Baron. It would just be too awkward to have a third person with them that would probably get jealous of her close friendship with the tall feline.

Of course, it will be awkward enough, just to have her _father _there with Baron and herself. Oh well, she'll work something out.

Finally, Tsuge brushed the airy veil away from his bride's face, and wrapped her in a warm embrace to kiss her softly. Haru and her father leapt to their feet, clapping and cheering like mad. Hasho whistled happily as the couple broke apart, and bowed while grinning like _very _happy idiots.

The partying began soon after. Haru was quite happy to play the lute for everyone, being the only musician in the village besides Tsuge. Her long slim fingers plucked and brushed against the lute in an energetic melody that seemed to capture everyone within its spell.

As long as she played, all was right with the world.

Just as the sun began to set, Haru heard a familiar cough to her left. She opened one dark eye in annoyance. "Did you need something, Machida?" the brunette asked in a tight voice.

He smiled grimly, his cold eyes forever on her. "Yes, actually. Have Tsuge play the next song. I hear you're an excellent dancer, but I'd like to find out for myself."

She glared at him, and pointedly turned her head as her fingers kept moving. "Not a chance. This is _his _party, and this is part of my gift to him and Hiromi. Why don't you take a hint and go pick on someone else," she added, playing a defiant trill on the lute that contrasted sharply with the happy melody that she had been playing before.

Machida flinched at her tone, having never heard it so firm before. He recovered slightly, and sneered. "I also heard that you're engaged to a complete stranger."

"He isn't a complete stranger," Haru corrected, changing to a soft waltz. "We've known each other for years."

"Your father said you were strangers," Machida accused, making the girl flinch slightly.

"I've been sneaking, and so has my fiancé. Curiosity, you understand," she added as an afterthought.

The young soldier began to shake with fury. "Why didn't you tell me before now?!" he demanded, commanding the attention of everyone at the celebration.

Her father looked over Nirami's shoulder, pausing in the dance as everyone else did the same.

"One, I didn't find out until after you left for the military," Haru said calmly, still brushing her slightly sore fingertips against the lute strings.

If Machida wanted to make a fool of himself in front of the entire village, that was _his _decision. Who was she to say no to a chance to put him in his place?

"Two," she continued coldly, "it's none of your business when or whom I marry. I have never been able to understand just why you think you're entitled to know what's happening in my personal life. Are you going to go find someone else to dance with now? I'm trying to concentrate." she asked dismissively.

Machida started shaking with anger. "How dare you?! If it weren't for my father, you would have been tossed out of your home a week after you moved in!"

"My uncle's been giving us a hand with the finances. We would have been just fine if your father had minded his own business and allowed my father to seek employment elsewhere. Stop trying to blackmail me; you're doing a terrible job of it. I don't fear you, or your father."

He grabbed her wrist, forcing her to her feet as the lute fell to the ground. "_Call it off_," he hissed, intensifying his grip as her father broke away to angrily approach, but was intercepted by the mayor. "You're not going to marry anyone but _me_, Haru. _I_ am your future husband, and that's final-"

He was suddenly interrupted when Haru slapped him fiercely, knocking him to the ground in a senseless heap.

"Why on earth would I end an engagement to the man I love, for a spoiled boy that I despise?!" she yelled, waving her gloved fists around angrily. "You are cold, arrogant, and have absolutely no sense of humor! Even if I had never met Baron, I never would have chosen you!"

"_Baron_?!" Hasho whispered softly in amazement and slight horror, but not softly enough to escape Hayato's startled notice as he tried to keep his ex-accountant from interfering with his son's negotiations.

"You could _never _measure up to Baron, Machida!" the brunette yelled at the top of her lungs, causing several nesting birds to wake and take flight from the terrifying noise. "So just drop it and go after someone that would actually want you, because I'm spoken for!" She turned her back coldly on the boy, picked up the lute, and brushed the dirt off of it before returning the instrument to Tsuge, who had rushed forward to assist her if needed. "I'm sorry for ruining your party, Tsuge, but it's kind of hard to play with egotistical bigots making a scene. You'll excuse me?"

The groom nodded numbly, making the girl smile slightly and turn to her father, who had finally managed to break away from the flabbergasted mayor to walk toward her, his face full of pride and an unspoken question that he desperately needed to be answered.

Suddenly realizing what she had blurted out, Haru knew what that question was. She braced herself slightly, guessing that he would ask her when they returned to their home. His eyes were a bit more wild than she had ever seen them, and his breath was coming in short gasps as he clutched the front of his shirt with one hand.

But five feet away from his daughter, Hasho suddenly jerked harshly, and fell flat on his face into the soft dirt.

"Papa!" Haru cried out in alarm, rushing to her father's side. _'I __**knew **__he was going to do something drastic. Sure hope I'll be able to drag him home.'_

Hiromi rushed over as well, a sympathetic smile for her best friend as she also leaned down to help the man. "I take it you never told him before now how you felt about Baron?" she asked teasingly, making the slim brunette blush slightly.

"No. But maybe he'll come to terms with it when he wakes up." Haru lifted one of her father's arms with strained effort. He was a little too heavy for her.

Good old Tsuge passed his new bride the lute in his hands, and pulled Hasho's arms around his neck so that the older man would be riding piggy back on him. "It could be morning before he wakes up," he said sheepishly, giving her a nod so that she could lead the way to her home by the light of a single lantern.

The Mishuzis watched the bride and groom follow the Yoshioka girl to her home, the younger with anger and the elder with confusion.

Why would the father need to adjust to the fact that his daughter was already in love with her fiancé?

Haru half-listened to the loving banter between Tsuge and Hiromi, too preoccupied with worrying about what her father would say when he woke up and confronted her about her strong attachment to Baron.

To choose between her dear father and her beloved would be a task quite beyond her capabilities.

"Haru!" Hiromi said with indignation. "Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

The brunette whirled around as her senses came back to reality. "Sorry. I thought you were still flirting with your husband."

"Not now," Tsuge said urgently, almost running up to her so that she could see her father's face. "Like we were trying to say, I don't think he's breathing!"

Her blood ran cold as she reached up with one hand, feeling her father's mouth.

No breath.

Her fingers trailed to his neck, and pressed gently.

No pulse.

"Lay him on the ground!" she ordered in a panic, passing the lantern to Hiromi as Tsuge did as she requested.

As Baron taught her to, Haru swished her fingers around her father's throat and pinching his nose carefully. She breathed for him a few times, then pressed her fist firmly into his chest to get his heart pumping again.

She repeated this process desperately until long after the sun had completely disappeared behind the mountain. Hiromi and Tsuge watched her soundlessly for an hour as Haru tried to save her father's life, not wanting to tell her that it was too late.

Her father, the only family she had left, was dead.


	16. The Sorrow

**Chapter Sixteen: The Sorrow**

"Perhaps a cup of tea?" Hiromi asked in a soft hesitant voice.

"No thank you," Haru replied softly, rocking her chair needlessly as Tsuge finished building a decent-sized flame in the fireplace. He looked over at his bride's best friend, having loved her like a sister since they were children.

For having just lost her father, she was remarkably calm, barely even crying. That worried him no end, since that was usually the prelude to suicide.

"I think it might be a good idea for us to stay here with you tonight," he said with a note of finality, making the brunette flinch.

"You don't have to do that," she protested, making him raise one hand to cut off her objections.

"I agree with Tsuge," Hiromi said firmly, embracing her best friend lovingly. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone in this house with a corpse, especially with Machida and his father on the prowl. We're staying here with you, or you can come back to town with us. Your choice, Haru."

The orphaned young woman stared at her two dearest friends, and burst into tears of gratitude. "I…" she stammered. "I can't face the townsfolk right now. Please?"

That was all she needed to say. Tsuge smiled warmly, and patted one shoulder that protruded from his wife's embrace.

Her father's body had been lovingly placed in the main room, which left his personal one open for the newlyweds as Haru reluctantly closed the door to her own room.

She hadn't really wanted to go to bed, but she knew that Hiromi and Tsuge would insist on staying up with her if she had just attempted to stay by her father's side.

Besides, she really did need to be alone right now.

She moved with slow labored steps to her neat little bed.

Haru allowed herself to fall on top of the modest quilt, and let the tears come, first at a small trickle, and then as a steady flood. She buried her face into her pillow, trying not to disturb the lovebirds in the next room with her sobs.

The slim brunette may have made a deal concerning her father's death when she was only six years old, but she had never really registered the fact that someday, her father wouldn't be around. She felt so _lost_, and lonely. The last time she had felt such pain, her mother was the one gone forever.

But now she had no one to cling to. Well, she still had Hiromi and Tsuge, but even close friends weren't quite the same as family.

The one she _really_ wanted to comfort her… was Baron. He was the closest thing she had to family now.

Almost on cue, a polite tapping came from the window over her head. Stifling another sob, Haru looked up.

It was Toto, his eyes filled with concern for the girl in front of him as he panted heavily from heavy exertion and made the glass fog up with his breath. Giving him a sad smile, she got to her knees on the bed in order to open the latch on the window.

The dark crow circled the room once before landing on one of the modest bedposts, his breath becoming normal. "What happened, Haru?" he asked urgently. "Baron could feel your sorrow all the way at the estate."

The slim brunette quickly leaned forward to gently wrap his beak shut with one hand. "Careful," she urged him, using the other hand to attempt wiping away her tears. "Hiromi and Tsuge are here."

Toto cocked his head in confusion, and nodded his head enough to get the girl to let go of him. "What are _they_ doing here?" he asked softly, glancing nervously at the wall that separated her room from her late father's.

Haru sighed, and huddled into a tight ball as a few more tears squeezed past her guard. "My father fell victim to an old family ailment that shows up every now and again. He had a heart attack in front of the whole village."

Toto stiffened in shock. "Did he…" the crow tried to ask, but Haru shook her head miserably.

"He's gone, Toto. There's nothing I could do. I _tried_, but it wasn't enough," she sobbed into her arms, driving her body into the corner of the bed that matched the wall, like she was trying to disappear.

Her feathered friend landed with difficulty on her slim shoulder, and started rubbing his head against hers in a comforting manner. "Oh, Haru," he tried to say, but no other words would come forth.

They sat there for a while, with one wing awkwardly wrapped around the girl's head as she continued to weep into her pillow.

But even tears couldn't last forever.

Haru eventually lowered the soggy pillow in her hands to look at the crow on her shoulder. "So, do we go to the von Gikkingen estate now?" she asked softly.

Toto cocked his head, like he was trying to guess what Baron would think about this new development. "Don't you want to say goodbye to your friends first? And what are you planning to do with your father's body?" he asked tentatively.

Haru sighed tiredly, and let the soaked pillow fall to the wooden floor. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'd definitely like to say goodbye to Hiromi, Tsuge, and Nirami, but I could live without seeing Machida again."

The crow twitched in disbelief. "Wait, the mayor's son? I thought Baron got rid of him for you."

Haru shrugged, leaning against the wall as her feathered friend hopped onto a bedpost again. "He did, but Machida came back. I don't know how or why, but he's back, and is more of a pest than he ever was. Would you believe he tried to _order _me to marry him?!" she demanded, making Toto chuckle darkly.

"Sounds like he doesn't know you in the least. The sooner we get you out of here, the better." He held one wing to his beak in concentration. "Do you think you can beat him off for another day's worth?"

Haru nodded. "I bet I could get Tsuge and _his _father to help me out with that. He got married to Hiromi today, you know. What do you have in mind?" she asked curiously.

The crow looked at her, and grinned sadly. "I'd be able to carry you to Baron tonight if we hurried, but I'm worried about your father's body. I suggest you hold services for him right here tomorrow, and keep Tsuge and his father close by to beat off those arrogant Mishuzis. Then, tomorrow night, Baron and I can come back for you and your father's body. That should give you enough time to say your goodbyes, and Baron would know the best way to transport your father's body. I'm betting he'd be willing to bury your father in the family graveyard, if you just asked him to."

Haru's eyes became wide and defenseless. "You really think he'd do that for me?" she whispered hesitantly.

Toto sighed, and flew off the bed post to run his beak lovingly through her hair one more time. "Haru, when are you going to learn?" he asked in a soft but slightly irritated manner before flying through the open window. "Baron would do _anything _for you."

Haru got on her knees on the bed again, and watched her feathered friend disappear into the night. Slowly, she shut the cold window, and finally started preparing for bed. "I hope you're right, Toto," she sighed longingly.

ooOoo

Despite how late she had stayed up the previous night, Haru was the first one up, adding stored firewood to the small black stove in the corner of the main room. After building up the fire, she took a small visit to the chicken coop that her father had built a year after moving into the tiny cottage. Haru spread out the grain to the happily clucking chickens, and calmly stepped into the coop to gather eggs for the last breakfast she would prepare for her dear friends.

Hiromi and Tsuge were up, by the time she had finished feeding and watering Haku as well.

She smiled a little wanly at them, and set the modest basket of eggs on the floor next to the stove, since the table was covered with her father's body, lovingly wrapped in her best white sheet. "Good morning," she greeted them pleasantly, taking a skillet off its hook and placing it on top of the stove so it could begin to warm up.

"Good morning," Hiromi said in a slightly hesitant voice, making her best friend laugh softly.

"I'm not going to take it personally if you two are happy about being married," she informed them with a smile. "Papa would be disappointed in all of us if you two were being sad on my account."

"Here," Hiromi said suddenly, stepping up to reveal a measure of bacon she had been concealing behind her back. "The eggs will taste better with this."

"That's a wonderful idea," Haru agreed, a little surprised as her lighter friend neatly shouldered her aside so that _she _could cook breakfast. "Come now, Hiromi. Let _me _do it. You just got married," the brunette protested.

"No, Haru," the blonde said stubbornly, using a metal spatula to drag the slices of bacon across the skillet before adding the eggs. "I _want _to do it. Please, just let me make breakfast for us."

The orphaned woman raised an eyebrow, but reluctantly took a seat at the table. "If it means that much to you, Hiromi," Haru said, wondering if her best friend was still feeling sorry for her.

Yes, that must be it.

Tsuge coughed nervously. "So, Haru… would you like me to start digging a grave for your father?" he asked politely.

"That's not necessary, but thank you," she replied gratefully. "My uncle's messenger dropped by while you both were still asleep. He likes to send someone to check on me every now and again when I'm with Papa, but it's pure luck that he came by now. He's preparing an escort so that I can take Papa's body with me when I go to my uncle's."

Hiromi's shoulders tightened as she absently started crushing the empty eggshells with one hand. "What's going to happen, with your father gone, Haru?" she asked in a tiny voice, making her best friend sigh.

"I'm going to live with my uncle from now on, Hiromi. I'm pretty sure that I can convince him to let me visit you every once in a while, though. Like I've said before, I've got him wrapped firmly around my finger."

Tsuge laughed a little harsher than what Haru thought the occasion called for, but then, they were all a little tightly strung from nerves. "So, you'll have services for your father today so everyone can give their last respects to both of you?"

"That's the plan," Haru said with a tight smile. "Would you mind kind of staying close by me through the services, Tsuge? Everyone knows you're as good as my brother now, and I think I'd like to have some muscle back me up when Machida and his father start making idiots of themselves again."

"You know you don't need to ask," he assured her, his dark eyes taking on a slightly dangerous tone to them. "If Machida tries anything, I'll make sure that he regrets it. I bet I could even get my old man to help out with beating off the riffraff. He never really approved of my late friendship with the mayor's son anyway."

Haru beamed warmly at him, and got up to start gathering the plates from the simple cupboards. "Thanks, Tsuge. You're the best."

"No problem," he shrugged off, his eyes turning even more angry. "After all, I wouldn't want to make you a liar, would I?"

Haru stiffened, turning back to look at him, the wooden plates and cups stacked neatly in her arms. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously as Hiromi shifted the bacon in the skillet in a brisk manner.

The blonde's hand started shaking angrily. "After all, you've been making a liar of yourself for all these years, you certainly don't need help from us, do you, Haru?" Hiromi asked in an accusatory tone that spoke of much certainty.

The brunette stared at them, the eating supplies in her arms falling to the ground in a noisy heap. "What… are you trying to say?" she asked in a horrified whisper.

Tsuge crossed his arms, and glared at her. "The wall between our rooms is sturdy enough, but not exactly soundproof. So tell us, Haru. How did Toto get in and out of your room last night without so much as a sound? And how come we never heard about an uncle from him?"

"That's right," Hiromi hissed, slamming the steaming skillet onto the small part of the table that wasn't covered with the late Hasho Yoshioka's remains. "The only name I heard the two of you say was _Baron_. Isn't that interesting?"


	17. The Truth

**Chapter Seventeen: The Truth**

Haru's jaw flapped uselessly as her face alternately turned paler than the moon and redder than a ripe apple. Her limbs began trembling terribly, and she backed up against a wall so that she wouldn't fall to the ground in a heap.

Hiromi crossed her arms as well, and glared at her best friend. "We're still waiting for an explanation, Haru," she hissed through her teeth.

The brunette's lower lip started trembling as her breath came in short spurts. _'They __**know**__. There's no way in heck I'll be able to cover this up to their satisfaction.' _Haru thought over her few options, and sighed tiredly. _'I better save face and surrender gracefully. I don't want to lose their friendship as well as Papa.' _ "Tsuge, I swear on my honor to tell the real story if you'll check around my home to make sure that no one else is eavesdropping on me. It's absolutely important that no one else finds out about this."

Satisfied with her promise, Tsuge nodded grimly, and marched out the door to start his search.

"Are you in trouble, Haru?" Hiromi asked with concern, guiding her best friend to one of the chairs again before gathering up the dishes the brunette had dropped earlier in surprise. They were still clean.

Haru laughed sadly as the blonde started dishing out the eggs and bacon. "Outside of with you and your husband, I can only hope not."

"Ah hah! What are _you _doing over here, Machida?!" Tsuge demanded from one side of the house as a short wrestling match ensued.

"I… just wanted… to see… Haru!" the mayor's son managed between obvious blows to the stomach.

"Her father died last night, you idiot! Leave her alone!" The huskier youth yelled, dragging Machida through the sight of one window as the soldier continued to put up a struggle. Five minutes later, Haru heard a horse whinny, and gallop down the path.

Tsuge came in shortly later, slamming the door while panting slightly. "What you have to say had better be good, Haru," he told her while collapsing in the other chair so that he could start eating the eggs his wife had prepared. Hiromi sat on her husband's lap to eat her own eggs, since there were only two chairs in the modest little cottage.

"It is," Haru said miserably, nibbling a bit of her bacon, although she no longer had an appetite. She sighed tiredly. "I'm not all that sure where to begin. It's pretty complicated."

"Try the beginning, and work your way out," Hiromi suggested, feeding her husband a piece of her bacon while he performed the same service for her.

The slim brunette sighed one more time, and started talking before she could stop herself. "Well, as you can probably guess, I never had an uncle. I've been spending every other two weeks for the past ten years with Baron."

"Yes, we figured that part out," Tsuge said patiently. "We were waiting for why you and your father lied to us about it."

"Because saying that I had an heirless uncle sounded a lot better than the fact that I had stolen a magic blue rose from a centuries-old magician, and my time with him is the payment for that flower," Haru answered, cringing underneath her skin.

Hiromi and Tsuge stared at her.

"Haru-" her best friend tried to say before the brunette cut her off.

"Yes, I know how it sounds," Haru said in her defense, standing up so that she could start pacing the room angrily. "Nobody believes in magic anymore, but I can testify that it's completely real. I've seen Baron do things that could never be explained by mere logic. Toto's a crow that can change his size and speak human, so Papa's been meeting him out in the woods so that they can exchange me every two weeks, which is why you couldn't hear him get in or out of my room. If I'm ever late to return to Baron, then he'll come for me, and I'll be his forever." She laughed a little cynically. "Of course, the deal I made with him was that I'd be solely his after my father's death, so I'm now his either way."

"You're crazy," Tsuge breathed, setting his wife down in the chair that the brunette had been sitting in before slowly approaching the orphaned woman with his hands up in a cautious gesture. "Just take it easy-"

"Hold that thought," Haru told him, tearing off her right glove and holding her naked hand to his face.

The blue rose hadn't faded in the slightest, still wrapped tightly around her palm and wrist in a possessive embrace. She didn't bother with gloves when she was living with Baron, but knew that this was the first time that she had ever exposed her mark to someone in the village.

Tsuge stared at the rose, his arms going limp at his sides as Hiromi jumped up to inspect the hand.

"How do we know this isn't a tattoo, Haru?" she asked suspiciously.

Haru sighed, and clasped her hand warmly with her best friend. "I don't have Baron's talent, but he _did _manage to teach me at least one little trick." The slim brunette furrowed her brow, and concentrated as hard as she could. Even then, the magic was difficult for her to control, since it was the rose's and not hers to command.

At first, Hiromi tried to break away from Haru's fierce grip, but then felt _something_ creeping along her palm, despite the fact that Haru was holding it too firmly for anything to be there.

The brunette loosened her hold enough for a green vine to snake through, making Hiromi and Tsuge gasp with surprise as a tiny little bud began to swell at the end of the miniscule curling vine.

Then the flower opened, a single pure white petal with slim traces of lavender that soon faded away.

Haru collapsed to her knees, suddenly exhausted beyond words. "You always loved moonflowers, right Hiromi?" she asked tiredly, nursing her rose-bound hand before sliding it back into her sturdy long glove. "Are there any more objections concerning my sanity?"

Hiromi and Tsuge couldn't answer her. They were too busy staring at the modest little flower they had just watched grow into fruition, _knowing_ that there was no possible way for it to have actually happened.

"I thought so," Haru said conversationally, stumbling over to the chair so she could finish eating her breakfast, now that her appetite had returned with a vengeance. "Baron doesn't like it when I do magic. He hates it when I hurt myself. I swear, there are days when he's more protective of me than Papa is- was," she corrected herself sadly.

Hiromi looked over at her best friend as her mind started working again. "Haru… this is the same Baron that you told me and Mama you were in love with?"

"That's the one," the brunette admitted after swallowing her mouthful of egg.

The blonde hesitantly walked up to her best friend, and touched her shoulder like the girl was made of glass. "How… how do you know he hasn't cast a spell on you to love him?" Hiromi asked timidly.

Haru stared at her best friend… and promptly started laughing fit to kill. "Oh, Hiromi," the brunette managed to say through her gasps of mirth. "You have no idea how funny that was."

"It sounds plausible to _me_," Tsuge said defensively, wrapping his arms around his wife's shoulders. "I mean, not that I would ever look at you that way, but you _are _a beautiful young woman."

"You don't understand," Haru said breathlessly, wiping away a few tears from her eyes. "Baron would never do that to me. The only times he ever used magic on me was a standard healing spell whenever I hurt myself. Even the blue rose attaching itself to my arm wasn't his idea. He sent Machida on that military training when I mentioned how much I hated that child's attentions. He's never been anything less than a perfect gentleman to me, and besides, I've read about the side effects of love potions in my studies. I can think coherently about things besides Baron, I'm not acting like I'm walking on clouds when I _do _think about him, and I don't wish to die when we're apart. I can assure the both of you that what I feel for him isn't coming from a drugged cup of tea." Haru patted Hiromi's cheek fondly.

"Baron makes me laugh, and he makes me happy. He's a good man, and if he feels for me what I feel for him, I would be honored to marry him, even if we wouldn't have a long time with each other. Machida could _never_ hope to hold a candle to myBaron. I'm sorry for the lies I've had to tell over the past ten years, but can you at least understand why I did it? Will you help me for what has to happen today?" she asked them, knowing that if they chose to spill her secret to the other villagers, she would never be able to see them again.

Hiromi smiled slowly, and wrapped her arms around Haru's shoulders.

"What kind of friends would we be if we _didn't _help?" Tsuge said sincerely, his own smile full of forgiveness. He walked over to where he had hung his coat the night before, and casually tossed his handgun at Hiromi.

She caught it with ease, since part of his courtship had included teaching her how to use the weapon, just in case.

"Use that if you need to," Tsuge instructed her before walking out the door. "I need to spread the news about old Hasho's death. This is Haru's last day with us, so let's use it wisely."

"But don't tell anyone it's my last day," the slim brunette urged him. "If the Mishuzis think they have until the end of the week to do something about me, then I'll be long gone by the time they decide what to do."

ooOoo

The mayor stared at his son, completely shocked. "You heard that from Haru's own lips?" he whispered.

Machida nodded firmly as he shouldered his musket, his instincts preparing him for battle. "And from Hiromi and Tsuge. There was never an uncle. Only this mysterious 'Baron' that seems to have some sort of power over her."

"But…" the mayor struggled. "If there was never an uncle, then there's a chance that there was never a fiancé! What if this Baron is a myth as well?"

"I don't believe that," Machida disagreed. "Haru's definitely been with _someone _all these years. You even said that her father knew there was a Baron. Whatever it is that Haru's been covering up for all these years _has _to be bigger than some mere inheritance contract," he asserted forcefully.

His father grinned evilly. "Which must mean that she'd do _anything _to keep it covered, isn't that right?"

"My thoughts exactly, Father."


	18. The Funeral

**Chapter Eighteen: The Funeral**

Haru stood beside the table Tsuge had pushed against the wall, her father's body clean and dressed in his best set of clothes.

The village only boasted of a little less than a hundred people, and despite the conflict that Haru's family had with the mayor's, the Yoshioka family was still held in high regard in the small community. As a result of that quiet respect, a steady procession had been filing through the small cottage. It was still early summer, so although the villagers were willing to stop by to pay their respects, they had far too much left to do to be tempted to linger.

Haru preferred it that way. She knew where their hearts were, but she didn't exactly want an audience to witness Baron's appearance. She snuck a look at Hiromi and Tsuge standing next to her through the corner of her eye, wondering if they would insist on staying until after she was gone.

Atsuko clasped his thin, shaky hands around the young brunette's, a sad smile on his old and worn face. "I'll surely miss seeing Hasho and you at the office, young lady. It will be awful lonely, with only the mayor scolding me-"

"He's coming up behind you," Haru whispered quickly, her heart filling with dread as the older and younger Mishuzi shouldered their way past the door and start pushing past the line in order to get close to her.

"Thanks," the old manservant said with a grateful wink, squeezing her hands one last time to encourage her before stepping away.

"Ah, Haru!" Mayor Mishuzi said with a smirk, with his equally arrogant son flanking him on the right. "_So _sad about your father. My condolences."

"Thank you," she said stiffly, gesturing with one hand for them to step aside so that those who had patiently waited their turns in line would be able to speak with her as well.

But the two remained exactly where they were standing.

"So, when were you planning to introduce us to your _uncle_?" Machida sneered at her, the action destroying his otherwise handsome features.

"Never," Haru replied flatly. "He doesn't care for either of you in the least, and I wouldn't dream of offending him by introducing you. I believe you've already expressed your feelings towards my deceased father adequately, so please leave."

"Not quite," the mayor said in his oily slick voice. "We still have that little proposal to discuss."

"No, you don't," Tsuge said flatly, leaning on his biggest hunting gun for emphasis. "She's already spoken for, if you didn't get that part last night. Go away."

"Stay out of this!" Machida ordered sharply. "This doesn't concern you, Tsuge."

"It doesn't concern you either," Haru reminded him, but Hayato raised one hand to silence her.

"We know the truth about Baron," he said smugly. "This uncle of yours was nothing but a fiction, and you know it."

"Stop trying to cause trouble, and get out of my house!" Haru yelled at him, shoving the mayor full in the chest before he could say more.

He stumbled a couple feet, not expecting the action, or the strength in her arms. The other mourners watched with shock as Haru swiftly moved forward to keep the man off his balance, shoving him forcefully out the door as Tsuge just as quickly pointed his gun at Machida.

"You too," the dark woodsman hissed at his ex-best friend. Machida stumbled a bit from the point, but then pulled a strange twirling motion with his body in order to whip Tsuge's gun from his grip, and point it right back at the woodsman.

"You shouldn't have done that," Machida snarled, one finger making to pull the trigger. "Oh, Haru," he tried to call out sweetly as the brunette firmly pushed the old bigot out the door with a final shove.

A loud banging sound echoed throughout the cottage, making the villagers gape with horror.

Machida immediately collapsed before Hiromi's feet, the gun fallen from his grasp as the blonde woman lowered the huge frying pan in her hands smugly.

"Here you are, my love," she said fondly, giving her husband's weapon back to him with a wicked grin. "I hope Machida wakes up with a splitting headache for trying something that stupid."

"One can only hope," he said lovingly, stealing a kiss from his blushing bride before dragging the soldier to the door by his ankles.

"Son!" the mayor shrieked in horror as Tsuge unceremoniously threw him out of the cottage as well.

"Just let it go, okay?" the woodsman demanded, turning on his heel so Haru could firmly close the door in their faces.

ooOoo

Haru dipped her father's quill into the ink one last time, and signed her name on the paper she had been writing on for the past half hour.

"All right," she said softly, handing the quill to Nirami and getting out of her seat so that the woman could sign her name as well. The quill was then passed to old Atsuko, who also signed his name.

"There! Now it's official, with witnesses and everything!" the old manservant exclaimed as Tsuge picked up the contract to look at it carefully.

"Are you absolutely sure about giving us your home, Haru?" he asked the slim brunette once more, making the girl nod firmly as she tied up her few belongings into an old worn shawl.

"I'd rather it went to you and Hiromi than to the mayor by default," she replied firmly. "Keep it, sell it, do whatever you think is best. Just be good to Haku for me, all right?"

"Of course," Hiromi assured her, stealing another hug from the girl. "You know we won't sell him to a butcher's or anything. We'll take care of the chickens and garden as well."

Atsuko stretched once from his chair, making his joints crack noisily.

Nirami helped him to his feet, and started walking out the door with him to ensure that he would reach home safely. "Coming, children?" the matronly woman called over her shoulder, but Tsuge shook his head.

"We're going to keep Haru company overnight, just in case the Mishuzis come back."

"Are you going to do that every night until she leaves for her uncle's?" Nirami asked in surprise.

Her daughter nodded firmly, making the older woman sigh and start heading down the path to the village.

"Be good, children."

"I love you Nirami, Atsuko," Haru called out to them, fairly certain that she would not see them again for possibly months.

"We love you too," Atsuko called back to her as the sun set over the mountain, casting everything into darkening shadows.

Haru sighed, and closed the door behind her. "That's it, then. Only a few more hours until Baron comes for me."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Tsuge asked worriedly, making the slim brunette laugh.

"Even if I wasn't, I gave him my word of honor, and no true Yoshioka ever goes back on their word."

ooOoo

Machida finally tore of the cold damp cloth that had been pressed to his head. "This does it, Father! I'm going to march right up to that stubborn girl's little cottage, and take charge like I should have been doing from the beginning!"

The mayor winced as he drank a glass of amber-colored wine. "I'm starting to have second thoughts about this, son. Do we _really _want a girl that pushes us around like this to join the family?"

"It's not a question of 'want', Father," Machida said irritably, shouldering his soldier's rifle over one shoulder. "It's her destiny to be my bride. All this fighting and dragging her heels is just making the situation worse than it really needs to be. Now she's going to have to eat her words."

"But son," the mayor tried to say.

The young soldier held up one hand to silence him. "If you're not going to help me, then stay out of my way," he hissed, marching out the door. "If she doesn't marry me by tomorrow night, I'll eat every pair of socks I own."

ooOoo

Machida slammed the door to his father's house, and started muttering to himself as he briskly marched across the lone village road to start climbing the path to the Yoshioka home, guided only by the moonlight.

He considered returning home for a lantern, as clouds began to pass over his only source of light, but then decided against it. He needed to have as much of an advantage as possible, when he saw Haru again.

Machida had chosen her for his mate, the day they had first met ten years ago. As he continued to think about all the years since then, he couldn't help but wonder why she found the idea of marrying him so distasteful. After all, he was tall, handsome, talented, and came from the very best family in the village.

What could she possibly have to complain about?! All the girls he had practiced his charms on while in the army life had assured him that he was positively irresistible. Why did Haru have such a grudge against him? It's not like he had ever insulted her…

Finally, Machida came into sight of the small cottage. He smiled grimly as he un-shouldered his rifle.

If Tsuge interfered with his affairs one more time, Hiromi would be a widow before another breath could be drawn.

But as he passed by the old grey stallion's stall, the horse began to whinny and snort noisily, making the soldier turn around fast.

"Stay silent, you old brute!" he hissed, but the horse refused to be pacified.

Then, Machida noticed that Haru's chickens began squawking in terror, their clawed feet making loud scratching noises on the wooden floor of their coop.

Then the trees surrounding the small cottage began to thrash about in a wild manner as the wind began to howl.

Now, Machida had grown up in the village. He had seen all these symptoms before, since they were usually the prelude to a terrible storm.

And yet… tonight felt different, for a reason that the young soldier didn't and couldn't understand.

Then the fresh green leaves from the trees began to break off their secure branches, and gather together in front of the cottage to form a green cyclone.

That was about when Machida backed up against Haku's stall, pressing himself against it in what he refused to admit to himself was fear. Carefully, he eased his head out just enough to look at the swirling leaves again.

A tall figure began to appear within the green tornado, making the soldier stare in shock.

After what felt like an eternity to Machida, the breeze that had been sending the leaves for a spin decided to stop, sending the small bits of green to sail gracefully to the ground, with only the tall figure left standing.

The soldier stared disbelievingly at the orange tail that came from the seat of the pants, since he was behind the figure, and at the large orange cat ears that held a grey top hat perfectly balanced as the stranger looked around the Yoshioka property.

"What a charming place," the cat man murmured softly, without the slightest trace of sarcasm. "She must have loved living here." The figure sighed sadly, and moved with quick long strides to Haru's cottage.

Machida considered shooting the monster down, but then thought about it.

This was _perfect_! If Haru could watch him take down a terrifying monster to keep her from harm, she would surely have to rethink her feelings for him. He grinned wickedly, and held his gun ready for when the lovable brunette started screaming.

"Haru," the cat monster called softly, rapping his knuckles firmly against her door. "I've come for you."

The solid oak door immediately flew open for him. But before he could step inside, the slim brunette pounced on him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck possessively.

"Baron!" Haru cried with relief before pressing her lips firmly against his.

Machida's jaw dropped in shock and horror, and he lowered his gun in disbelief. _'Baron?! __**That's **__Baron?!'_

The tall tawny feline's body seemed to go rigid with shock as the girl kissed him fervently, but then she stopped, realizing that he wasn't kissing her back.

"Oh," Haru said while blushing hard, taking her arms off of his broad shoulders in a sudden stroke of timidity. "I'm so sorry, Baron. I should have asked first-"

"Stop." The giant cat pressed two gloved fingers to her stammering mouth to keep her from speaking.

Her large brown eyes became defenseless as the furry lord locked eyes with her, or so Machida supposed.

"Haru, this is something I _refuse _to accept an apology for," he said softly, allowing his gloved fingertips to trail away from her soft lips to cup her cheek gently in one gloved hand.

A loving smile crossed his lips as he leaned forward slightly, and kissed her back.

"If I had known you were going to greet me like _that_, I'd have been here last week, whether your father was still here or not."


	19. The Chastisement

**Chapter Nineteen: The Chastisement**

Haru looked up into Baron's beautiful green eyes, scarcely daring to believe her ears. "Then… you don't mind?" she asked excitedly.

Baron laughed at her, and kissed her lips again. "I have every intention of encouraging you, Haru. But this is a discussion that will sadly have to wait. Your father, remember?"

"Oh, right," Haru giggled softly, some of the light going out of her glorious eyes. "Please come in, Baron."

He did so, but stopped in his tracks as Haru shut the door behind him. He stared at the other two humans in the cottage, who stared shamelessly back at him. "I take it you are Hiromi and Tsuge?" the tall feline asked formally, making them nod numbly as Haru turned around from blocking off the door.

"They overheard me talking to Toto, Baron. I _had_ to tell them the truth."

"But she forgot to mention that you were a cat," Hiromi said in a slightly accusatory manner, making the furry lord shrug slightly.

"No one's perfect," he replied blandly, making Haru giggle again. Oh, he loved that sound…

"Thank you both for helping her," Baron said sincerely, stepping close to the table where the late Hasho Yoshioka lay. "I'm glad that she wasn't alone through this. At least he felt no pain."

Haru nodded sadly. That was the only benefit to her family's condition. Still, perhaps if it had taken more time, she might have been able to save him.

Oh, who was she kidding? All the books in the world couldn't substitute for hands-on experience. Maybe Baron could have saved him, but it was far too late for her to have such thoughts.

"I never really knew him," the tawny feline said softly, looking at the dead man in front of him. "Only that he was honorable and good. But it was enough." Baron pressed both of his palms over the dead man's heart, and began whispering in a language that neither Tsuge nor Hiromi had ever heard before, but was as familiar to Haru as the tawny feline's arms.

Hasho's body dissolved into a series of white lights, which faded away to reveal a bare table.

"Where did he go?!" Hiromi asked in a panic, but the feline lord raised one hand to calm the blonde.

"I merely transported his body to my estate. The others will know what to do with him." Baron turned once again to the slim brunette, his eyes a little confused. "Haru, you mentioned to Toto that Machida came back?"

She nodded. "Was that your idea?"

"Of course not," he scoffed, cupping her face with one soft gloved hand. "I made arrangements for him to stay in the military until he was thirty. Not that it matters, now."

"How did you do _that_?!" Tsuge blurted out curiously, making the feline lord shrug dismissively.

"A well-worded letter of recommendation from an anonymous sponsor and a large bag of gold was all it took. Of course, a lone sentence on a scrap of paper might have sufficed, as long as the gold was still there. Commanding officers are notoriously greedy."

"I guess so," Haru said softly, gripping one of his arms possessively. "Baron, would you mind terribly if I visited Hiromi and Tsuge every once in a while?"

"Of course not," he assured her, patting her slim hands tenderly. "However, with that mayor's son running around, it might be best if the visits were set in a random pattern once every month. Is that agreeable?"

Hiromi pouted. "I'd like to see her more, but yours is a better plan. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Machida's sneaking back right now to try forcing his proposal to Haru at gunpoint."

A guilty scuffle was heard just on the other side of the door.

Baron's eyes narrowed, and he quickly made a sharp gesture towards the door with one hand sending a fast-moving green mist at it. The mist seeped between the cracks in, as well as between, the door and the frame, making the soldier on the other side cry out with surprise.

Baron firmly pressed Haru closer to her childhood friends, and slowly made his way to the door. He opened the sturdy wooden door, and looked down at the ground with amusement as the dark lad continued to scream.

His gun had fallen from his hands, and he was now firmly bound with quickly-growing vines, almost to the point where no one could see his uniform.

"Machida, I presume?" Baron asked in a slightly lazy tone, picking up the gun.

The soldier kept screaming until vines wrapped firmly over his mouth, allowing him just enough room to breathe.

"I'll take that as a yes," the tawny feline continued, looking at the weapon in his hands from all possible angles. "I see they've adjusted the barrel in the past few centuries. That must make it possible to shoot multiple times before having to reload."

"Six shots," Haru provided, having heard more about the weapon from the pathetic suitor than she ever wanted to know.

Baron hummed slightly, turning the weapon over and around in his sturdy gloved hands. "I've never set much faith in guns," he said softly, pointing the dangerous end of it at Machida, who stopped moving in horror. "They can be neutralized so _easily_."

But, instead of shooting the annoying human, the gun slowly turned red from rust, and collapsed into useless pieces right in front of the bound soldier.

Baron brushed his gloved hands against each other sharply, to be rid of the red dust clinging to them. "Haru, do you still stand by your former judgment of this irritating little boy?"

"Which was that?" the slim brunette asked curiously.

Baron turned around so that he could smile at her again. "Do you still wish him gone, but not harmed in any fashion?"

Haru stole a glance down at the boy who had been haunting her for years, his pathetic eyes _pleading _with her to help him.

It would be so easy. All it would take is one word.

A word which both she and her beloved knew wouldn't cross her lips. Haru sighed tiredly. "I just want him out of my life, Baron. You _know_ that's all I want."

His glorious green eyes glowed warmly, and he turned back to the boy. "Oh, what to do to you, mayor's son. The possibilities are endless, you know." He leaned against the doorframe, taking his own sweet time considering his choices.

"I could turn him into a hunchback," Baron mused. "Send him to a distant country, perhaps. Or…"

The tawny feline looked down at the soldier, and grinned evilly. "Perfect. I hope conditions over there haven't changed drastically in the past few centuries." He kneeled next to the fallen boy, and began to whisper a slightly different incantation than Haru had ever heard before.

Machida began to struggle against the vines desperately as a tingling feeling began to spread throughout his bones, and began to turn his very being into a frothy bubbly mixture. "He-mmph!" Machida tried to call out to Haru before her countenance dissolved completely into nothing, and all the world turned black.

Next thing he knew, he was being rolled around in ice-cold water, over and over as he struggled to find something to cling to.

Finally, his boot found soft sand underneath the rolling waves, which allowed him to walk sluggishly up the sandy beach before landing on the steaming hot sand to cough up salty water for several minutes.

Once he was done, Machida turned around to see the largest body of water of his whole life. It stretched farther than he could see.

It was so _vast_! In the pounding heat of the sun, the sea seemed to be nothing but a giant, sparkling mirror, with only large white birds dipping towards and away from the water, flailing fish in their long yellow beaks.

Feeling cold, despite the burning hot sand he was still sitting in, he turned to look behind him.

It was a forest, any one could see that. But the trees were so _strange_, with no branches and holding what looked like brown rocks at the top of them.

"Uh, hello!" Machida called out to the forest, hoping to hear someone, but nothing answered him save for strange birdcalls.

Feeling apprehensive, the soldier rolled to his feet expertly, and ran into the thick foliage.

This was all wrong! There were no set paths from the sun-blasted white beach behind him, and the forest itself carried a heavy damp smell, like it rained frequently under the trees.

"Is anyone there?!" Machida called out desperately, beginning to fear that for the first time in his life… he was completely alone.

The rain came about an hour after he had entered the forest. Machida broke off a leaf of gigantic proportions for a makeshift umbrella, but it could only cover part of his body at any given time.

He was as tired as death, it had been hours since he had eaten anything, and his throat was parched with thirst. He would only drink the rain water if he couldn't find a stream soon, but he wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

"Someone answer me!" he screamed into the darkening forest.

Strangely, something did. Several somethings, to be exact.

A screeching laughter echoed all around him from above, making the soldier tilt the giant leaf back so that he would see who was there.

He stared in amazement.

They looked like _very _hairy children, but with tails nearly the length of their bodies or longer! The grey faces leered at him from all around, a cruel mischief present.

The one who appeared to be the leader, a red one with slight traces of grey around his face, screeched something intangible before raising one of the brown rocks he had seen growing on the trees in both hands.

The others screeched as well, and raised an assortment of the brown rocks, bits of what he could only assume to be bright orange fruits, and some of them were holding smaller brown things that seemed to mush through their fingers like soft clay, despite how high they were in the trees.

With a start of horror and revulsion, Machida realized what the last item was, as the hairy ones began tossing everything they could grab a hold of at the lonely soldier, forever screeching that terrible echoing laugh.


	20. The Happy Ending

**Chapter Twenty: The Happy Ending**

Haru clung to Baron's arm a little tighter, thankful when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her into a close embrace.

The pain wasn't so bad, now that Baron was with her. She even managed a soft smile as she looked at the dark stone that bore her father's name. His grave was covered with white lilies that she and Baron had planted together the week before, the day after the formal funeral.

Haru smiled softly, and nuzzled her beloved's shoulder. "You know what, Baron?"

He looked away from the grave to smile at her, his glowing green eyes filled with undisguised love. "What?" he asked softly.

She smiled at him again, and kissed his cheek. "This may sound terrible, but I'm glad I took your rose that day."

He laughed at her, and wrapped her up in both arms. "It's not terrible, Haru. I'm glad you did, too," he whispered into one of her ears before kissing her cheek lingeringly. "More than anything, I'm glad you did, too. Care to walk with me for a while?"

The slim brunette nodded, and followed his lead away from her father's grave.

She knew her papa wasn't going anywhere for a while.

For the longest time, Baron didn't say anything as he led the woman at his side through the flower maze. Haru could tell that he wasn't angry or anything, so she just smiled and held onto his perfectly contoured arm in contentment.

Finally, he turned one last corner, and came out to the center of the maze, which framed a familiar bush, spotted with white roses.

Haru giggled. "Now _here's _a place that brings back memories."

"Indeed," Baron agreed with her before leading the girl in front of him so that he could subtly start waltzing with her. "No hills nearby this time," he added with a chuckle, although Haru could spot the blush through his fur.

She laughed at him, and then rested her head on his comfortable chest and closed her eyes, giving Baron complete control over her as they twirled around the white rosebush.

That was strange. Was it her imagination, or was his heart beating a little faster than his calm demeanor called for? Was he actually _nervous_?

A slightly sinister snicker met her ears.

Both Baron and Haru turned toward the source of the sound, and glared at the intrusion.

The hedge _may _have concealed Muta's girth, but the swishing white tail sticking out of it was more than visible.

"Muta," Baron growled in a low warning voice, but didn't get the chance to say more than that. The fat white cat bolted for his life, bumping into several hedges and scattering flower petals in the process.

Haru raised one hand to hide her giggles, but it didn't work all that well.

Baron growled again, covering his face with one hand. "Perfect timing," he muttered under his breath.

"For what?" Haru asked curiously. "Is something wrong?"

He locked eyes with her again, and sighed in resignation. "No, nothing's wrong." He wrapped her up in his arms once again, _loving _how it felt to finally hold her. "Tell me, Haru, would you say something is rather special about today?"

She thought about it. "You mean besides the fact that I get to spend it with you? Not really," the slim brunette giggled, touching his cheek tenderly with one hand.

His mint-green eyes melted lovingly, and he leaned forward to kiss her soundly without thinking. Haru tilted her head back to better the kiss, bracing her body against his by wrapping her arms possessively around his sturdy neck, shivering with delight as Baron squeezed her tight and purred deeply in satisfaction.

After a few moments, Baron reluctantly pushed her away, just enough to end the kiss. "That's flattering, love. But you truly have no idea of what today is?"

Haru reluctantly opened her eyes to look at him lovingly. "The anniversary of when we first met? No, that's not for another few months," she murmured to herself fretfully. What could she possibly be forgetting? Was it important?

Baron laughed at her, and squeezed her close again while nuzzling her soft dark hair. "You…" he struggled between his chuckles, "You… are a treasure, Haru. How could you have forgotten that it's your birthday?"

Haru stared at him, more than a little stunned. "Are you sure?" she asked incredulously, which only made Baron's laughter double.

"It's not something I'm likely to forget, Haru. You're sixteen today."

She giggled guiltily, and hugged him affectionately. "Thanks for not springing another party on me for this year."

"Your father's death was a little too close," Baron agreed, inhaling the flower-like scent of her dark brown hair. "Still, I couldn't resist getting you a present." He shifted her body to one arm, still squeezing her as he reached into the pocket of his sturdy grey jacket. Haru looked at the pocket with interest, unable to keep a still-childish part of her from wondering what he had gotten her.

Most of the time, he gave her a book or flower seeds for her backyard garden when she lived with her father. He always seemed a little frustrated by her disinterest in physical possessions, since she was more than happy with the simple dresses and books that he let her read. It sort of made finding the perfect gift more than a little challenging for him.

Even now, there was a trace of uncertainty in his face as he pulled the gloved fist out of his pocket, and slowly raised it until it was level with Haru's heart. Slowly, he opened his hand… revealing a simple gold ring, set with a small diamond carved into a pale rose.

Haru gasped softly in disbelief, and looked up into a pair of frightened green eyes. "Baron?" she asked timidly, since the ring could only mean one thing.

He smiled nervously, and took a deep breath for courage. "I love you, Haru. I have loved you for a long time now. Will… you… marry me?" he asked timidly.

That humble question made Haru's heart feel like it was a flower, suddenly blooming until her chest could hardly contain it. Her smile bloomed likewise as she scooped the ring out of his palm with the correct finger, and slid it on until it stuck fast.

"I would be _honored_," she whispered against his furry lips, just before kissing them for the next several minutes.

She and Baron were so happily engrossed in their amusing little activity, that they didn't even hear the tumultuous cheers that seemed to explode everywhere around the von Gikkingen estate.

ooOoo

"Here you are, dear," Selene said as she climbed up the vanity table and onto Diana's shoulders so that she would be able to reach Haru, who was standing right next to it so that the pale feline could fasten the sheer veil to the human girl's loose hair with a modest wreath of white flowers from the garden.

"Thanks," Haru said with a giggle, bracing herself against Diana's paws until both cats were safely back on the ground.

As soon as the paws came off her back, Haru turned around to look at herself in the silver mirror.

A tiny smile played upon her lips. She had never been one to stand admiring her reflection, but this _was _her wedding day, after all. She owed it to Baron to look her best, and from the looks of her, she wouldn't disappoint him.

Her gown was pure white satin, with short sleeves, so that she wouldn't get tortured by the summer sun, since she and the Baron were to have the wedding in the garden.

"Are you sure that you don't have any, um, wedding jitters?" the red-furred Jenny asked nervously, making the slim human shake her head.

"Not a chance. Baron's the only one for me, and I don't care what anyone else says," she stated firmly. She reached down to smooth her flowing skirt, and paused for a second. "They can say whatever they want," she added with a wicked smile. "I just won't care."

The felines that were assisting the bride gathered around her, laughing their heads off. The white-clad human laughed with them, taking the bouquet of white roses from Selene.

"Haru…" the pale cat stammered.

The slim brunette cocked her head, and kneeled down so that she could be at eye level with Selene. "Yes?" she prodded.

The pale grey cat took a deep breath of her own. "We just wanted to say… we love you, and we're glad that you're here to stay."

Haru smiled warmly, and wrapped the feline in her arms. "I feel the same way, Selene."

An enchanting melody began to play, echoing throughout the manor like a graceful nymph.

Diana cocked her head up from nuzzling one of the girl's arms. "It's time, Haru."

The slim brunette nodded, and stood to her full height after one final hug to all those who had attended her. "Thank you, everyone," she whispered before purposefully moving the roses into one hand so that she could open the door, and meet her chosen destiny.

As she trailed down the corridors and stairs, Haru's mind wandered to that fateful day when Muta ran her ragged through these same halls to punish her for thinking that he was her old favorite stuffed cat brought to life.

She suppressed an evil giggle, since a single 'Buta-san' could still reduce the fatso to a frothing frenzy.

"Something amusing, my lady?" a formal falcon asked from his perch on a high windowsill.

Haru giggled again. "Just reminiscing, Nathaniel."

"Best to get that out of your system now, before you walk out that door," he told her, cocking his head towards the door that led out to the gardens.

Haru nodded once, and adjusted her hold on the bouquet before touching the veil, to be sure that it was still in place.

A strange sense of serenity swept over Haru, as the door opened on its own. Golden sunlight fell on her like a spotlight, and the beautiful melody reached a crescendo.

Smiling peacefully, the young bride stepped out of the manor and onto the soft flower-strewn grass. All the servants, feline and fowl, lined the path that led directly to the grey-furred priest and the white-suited Baron.

The latter was looking at her with such hopeless devotion that her own heart melted more than usual, when she looked into his eyes.

She raised one slim hand, the one with the blue rose still firmly attached to it, and clasped Baron's firm one with it as he offered it to her. For once, the gloves were off, and they both knew why.

He raised it to his furry lips and stole a tenderly soft kiss as she joined his side, a light blush on her cheeks. His _real _touch was greatly improved without the gloves between them. She would have to speak to him privately about that later.

Dear old Joseph began the wedding ceremony, but for the life of her, Haru could never remember in the years to come what the exact words were. All she could remember were the promises that both she and Baron swore to keep to each other for the rest of their lives.

'_Love, honor, and cherish no matter what happens… I've been doing this for years. But I think I'll enjoy doing it on a more intimate level.' _She smiled ironically as dear Selene passed her a gold ring, which she slid lovingly onto Baron's ungloved finger, lingeringly holding his hand while looking deep into his eyes through the gauzy veil that still covered her face. He smiled lovingly at her while sliding a gold ring onto her finger, against the pale engagement ring that was already there.

"Do you, Baron?" Joseph asked.

"I do," the tawny lord whispered softly, entranced by the sight of his bride.

"Do you, Haru?" the priest asked her, struggling to keep his face straight.

"I do," Haru said dreamily, too lost in Baron's eyes to notice Joseph's strange behavior, or that of the impatient congregation.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride now," the priest urged his lord a little insistently.

"Don't mind if I do," Baron purred, wrapping one arm around his wife's waist while removing the veil from her face with the other hand.

Haru was a little too ecstatic to think about giggling now. She just threw her arms around her husband's neck, and met his lips in a fervently passionate kiss.

Now, ever since Baron had taken her back from her father's cottage, she had turned kissing him into a well-practiced hobby. She was intimately aware with how his lips could make her world explode into something bigger than she had ever dared to dream before.

Still, she was completely taken by surprise when the world seemed to physically move beneath her feet, and her husband's body seemed to dissolve like lightning in her arms, one of which felt like it was on fire. Alarmed, she squeezed him even more tightly, but his life force was as solid as ever. Her eyes remained firmly shut, praying that it was just her emotions overreacting again.

It wouldn't be the first time.

Eventually, Baron's body returned to normal, and she could tell that his arms were still wrapped firmly around her slim body.

But, despite his familiar purr, Haru could tell that something was wrong. For one thing, her husband's jacket felt strangely thin, like he had forgotten a few layers of clothing that he usually wouldn't be caught dead without.

It was almost like… she could feel _skin _under his jacket! But that was impossible!

Wasn't it?

And his lips felt different, too…

She was almost too afraid to open her eyes. But not quite. Her eyelids timidly raised halfway, and then quickly shot open with shock.

Haru was kissing a _human_, and a rather handsome one, too. But before she could try pulling away, she noticed that the man had Baron's lovely tawny hair, and his irresistible _purr_!

"What's going on?!" she asked around his continuing kiss, the words barely decipherable.

But Baron could understand her, just like he always had. He reluctantly pulled away to break the kiss, gazing at her lovingly with those glowing green eyes that she adored. The hand that had come to rest on the back of her neck removed itself so that he could brush his naked knuckles against his smooth jaw line in wonder.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, Haru," he confessed softly, cupping her face with his broad warm hand and sending sparks up and down his wife's body. "But if I had told you what had happened to me before we were married, then I, along with everyone in my domain, would have remained cursed for all eternity."

Haru jerked her head at the wildly cheering crowd, not a single tail or feather to be seen on anyone. Even dear Joseph was now a grey-haired old man, bracing himself discreetly against the hedge behind him in order to keep his balance.

A very large man with a mop of muddy brown hair started laughing his head off. "I think she's even more shocked by this than by talking animals!"

"I don't know," a black-haired youth next to him drawled with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "You still look like a pig to me."

"PIG?!" Muta howled at Toto before giving chase around and out of the courtyard. Again.

"Nice to see _something's _the same," Haru muttered under her breath as her husband sighed tiredly.

"True, not even the curse could make them change their ways. To get back to the point," Baron continued, straining the sentence slightly to gain his wife's full attention, "I and everyone on my lands were cursed three hundred and seventy-five years ago for crossing King Julian."

Haru gasped. "You mean the first of Thiyon?"

"You've heard of him, I take it," Baron said drily.

"He started a war that lasted for a century, and was murdered by his own son, or so history says. Father told me about him once," she admitted softly.

Baron smiled once more, still caressing her face gently with one ungloved hand. "Nice to finally know what happened to him. Well, I managed to soften King Julian's curse until a woman wearing a ribbon matching the blue rose plucked it, then I would need to earn both her love and her hand in marriage. _Your _love and hand, Haru," he said tenderly.

Her jaw slowly dropped in horror. "You've been planning this since I was a _child_?!"

He blushed deeply. "Since centuries before you were born, but I behaved myself! You have no idea how shocked I was, when you appeared after all this time as a six-year-old! I still love you, with or without the curse hanging over me." He kissed her cheek caressingly, and locked eyes with his bride. "It's still _me_, Haru. Do I really need whiskers to be the man you love?"

The slim brunette stared at him mutely for a moment.

He had a point, there. The look in his eyes was the same, and that smile was the one she had grown up knowing.

Yes, she still loved him.

She reached up with one hand, and softly traced his face with one finger. The blue rose wasn't on her hand and wrist anymore, but the diamond rose on her engagement ring had darkened to a periwinkle hue. "Well… if I could get used to a giant talking cat, I can get used to an extraordinary human." She smiled mischievously, and raised the finger in warning. "But no more secrets!"

"Deal," Baron agreed readily, taking her into his arms for yet another kiss as the crowd cheered again with relief.

ooOoo

Lots of love goes to; laurashrub, Ghost Wulf, The Spiked Dragon, Savannah Cullen, QuickStar, Bambi4ever, Bibliophile Nincompoop, Blood of the Wolf, fringeperson, staggered incite, AlphaSigma, otakubarbie, Archon Dragon, ArtsyChick, Rini's Ghost, Apple Juice Revolution, moonwolfa, Anon, Nonimouse, sonorahugagi, Chantal, darkryubaby, Naphtali Phoenix, Anonomous-Allstar-Fan (along with Santa and Bob), Raye1084, Lunarobi Pride, NinjaFoodLover, slavetothekeyboard, Strawberry White Tiger, Ceysna, MISSJOKES, Caged Gypsy, Utsuro, Nina! XD, EagleBlaze954, jumira-wings, mimi12345678, kittydemon18, xXxThe Unknown MalfoyxXx, Megii of Mysteri OusStranger, Revy22, gacktxx, Ms-Lady-Phoenix, Halle78657, silver starlight serpant, ShiroLight, Annemarie, NinjaoftheDarkness, Elvin Magi, and LeafeKnight7 for reviewing my work.

Sorry for making you think that it was a Romeo and Juliet take. But on the bright side, those that made the mistake have inspired me to actually do one. It will probably be a while until it comes out, but I have a definite plotline.

Ah, yes; summary time. There's a funny thing about this latest one. It's so short, I literally have to include the title of the fic for it to make sense. Well, if you can't figure out what movie it's inspired from, I honestly feel sorry for you.

_As You Wish; it was all he ever said to her._

Lots of love,

YC


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